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The National Capitol 35 hasten my departure, and is in a very bad humour with me because I insist in waiting until the large picture of General WTashington is secured, and it requires to be unscrued from the wall.This process was found too tedious for these perilous moments.I have ordered the frame to be broken and the canvas taken out.It is done; and the precious portrait placed in the hands of two gentlemen of New York for safe-keeping. And now, my dear sister, I must leave this house, or the retreating army will make me a prisoner in it by filling up the road I am directed to take." The city was soon deserted, except by lawlessness and anarchy."Many passed the night," writes Ingersoll, " in huts and cornfields around the town.The first considerable dwelling the enemy was to pass had been Mr. Gallatin's residence, the house of Mr. Sewall, some hundred yards east of the Capitol.From behind the side wall of that house, as is supposed, at all events from or near to it, a solitary musket, fired by some excited and perhaps intoxicated person, believed to be a well-known Irish barber, but never ascertained who was the perpetrator, no doubt aimed at General Ross, killed the bay mare he rode." On reaching the Capitol, the enemy detailed a body of men to take possession of the building.Admiral Cockburn, incensed, no doubt, by the shot which killed Ross's horse, impudently ascended the rostrum in the House of Representatives, sprang into the Speaker's chair in his muddy boots, and, calling his battle-stained troops to order in mock parliament, shouted deri- sively: "Shall this harbor of Yankee Democracy be burned ?All for it will say, Aye!" An unanimous cry in the affirmative arosefrom the soldiers, and the order was cheerfully given.By means of rockets, tar barrels found in the neighborhood, broken furniture, heaps of books from the Library, and pictures, including the full-length paintings * of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI., which had been presented by that unfortunate monarch to Congress, the whole structure was soon in flames. This infamous act stamped Sir GeorgeCockburn, admiral and baronet of England, a barbarian who justly merits the contempt of posterity. How strange that it fell to his lot, in the autumn of t8i, triumphantly to execute in the "Northumberland" the sentence of deportation to St. Helena, which had been passed upon Bonaparte. Fortunately, the storm which had been threatening during the approach of the English, aided by a few patriotic hands, finally extinguishedthe flames. But too late!It is recorded as having had a velocity so great as to destroy many buildings and trees in the city, and asportending to the superstitious such dire calamity as the upheavals in Rome when Casar fell. Rev. G. R. Gleig, who, with a detachment of the British troops,had spent the night in the storm outside the city, and whose ardor was, nodoubt, damp-

resolution of Congress containing letter of acceptance, see Appendix, p. 26o 36 The National Capitol ened thereby, says: "As soon as dawn appeared, the brigade moved from its bivouac on the common, and marched into the town.Proceeding along a narrow street, which was crossed at right angles by two or three of a similar description, we arrived at a large open space, surrounded on three sides by the rudiments of a square, and having its fourth imperfectly occupied by the ruins of the Senate-House.It is slightly raised above the level of the rest of the city, and is crossed by a paltry stream, called in true Yankee grandiloquence, the Tiber, as the hill itself is called the Capitol.Here the brigade halted, and piling their arms in two close columns, the men were permitted to lie down." By this invasion of the English, the last volumes of the manuscript records of the Committees of Ways and Means, Claims and Pensions, and Revo- lutionary Claims, which were then being prepared for Congress, were destroyed, in spite of the fact that after the battle of Bladensburg they were remOved by Mr. Frost to the "house commonly called George Washington's, which house being unexpectedly consumed by fire, these records were unfortunately lost." The Congressional Library, and the secret journal of Congress, which was kept in a private drawer and in the hurry forgotten, were consumed in the building itself, together with many private papers, petitions, valuable effects and the private accounts and vouchers of Patrick Magruder, Clerk of the House of Representatives, among which were unfortunately the accounts and receipts for the expenditure of the contingent moneys of the House.These last were locked in a private drawer to which Magruder only had the key, and the clerks, delaying breaking it open, finally forgot them.The ExeCutive Departments of the government, however, removed their effects in time to a place of safety under the direction of their Secretaries, a fact which served to heighten the criticism heaped upon the authorities at the Capitol for the irreparable loss sustained there. Considerable light is thrown upon the subject by the letter of the Clerk to the House, September 20, 1814, and by the enclosed report addressed to him by his assistants, S. Bnrch and J. T. Frost, from which itseems Magruder in July had gone to the Springs for his health,so that he was absent from the city, when unexpectedly, on August r9th, "the whole body of themilitia of the District of Columbia was called out, under which callevery clerk of the office was taken into the field, except Mr. Frost, and marchedto meet the enemy." On the aist, Burch was furloughed at the request of ColonelGeorge Magruder, in order that he might return to the Capitol andsave such papers as was possible "in case the enemy should get possession of the place."He arrived the same night.His instructions were, however, not to begin pack- ing up until "the clerks at the War Officewere engaged in that business," which he did not ascertain to be thecase until noon of the 22dAt that late hour, Burch found that the fewconveyances which had not already been The National Capitol 37

"impressed into the service of the United States for the transportation of the baggage of the army," were loaded with private effects, and these he could not hire; nor had he the power to impress them.As a last resort, he dispatched three messengers into the country, one of whom obtained from John \Vilson, whose residence was six miles from the city, a cart and four oxen, vhidh did not arrive until after dark.With this primitive conveyance, that very night, they transported some of the papers to a secret spot nine miles from Washington, and continued to remove such books and records as they were able with the one cart until the morning of the battle.Strange to say, a goodly part of the papers so removed turned out to be valuable. Popular feeling at the time in America regarding the whole affair naturally was bitter, and was voiced by Jefferson in a letter of February 14, i8x5, from Monticello to his friend, the Marquis de Lafayette: "The force designated by the president was double what was necessary, but failed, as is the general opinion, through the insubordination of Armstrong, who would never believe the attack intended until it was actually made, and the sluggishness of Winder before the occasion, and his indecision during it.Still, in the end, the transaction has helped rather than hurt us, by arousing the general indig- nation of our country, and marking to the world of Europe the vandalism and brutal character of the English Government.It has merely served to immortalise their infamy." Even many Englishmen bitterly condemned the acts perpetrated by their countrymen in the American capital, as unworthy of civilized warfare.The letter of Grenville to John Trumbull of November 23, 1814, though couched in most diplomatic language, does not wholly conceal his true feelings: "I was prepared and resolved to pursue the subject further, nor did I desist from that intention, until 1 received public and solemn assurances, that orders had already been sent out to America for the discontinuance of such measures, and for a return of the practice of modern and civilized war, provided the same course shall in future be adhered to by those whom I lament to call our enemies."The London Sfafrs,nan went so far as to say: "Willingly would we throw a veil of oblivion over our transactions at Washington.The Cos- sacks spared Paris, but we spared not the Capitol of America." RE-ASSEMBLING OF CONGRESS

Tua triumphal entry of the British into the capital, the destruction of the government buildings by fire, and the retreat the following day, created intense excitement in the land.Because of the extraordinary necessity, Congress was convened in extra session at Washington, September9th, by special proclamation of the President: WASHINGTON, September 17, iSi4. SIR: The destruction of the Capitol, by the enemy, having made it necessary that other accommodations should be provided for the meeting of Congress, Chambers for the Senate and for the House of Representatives, with other requisite apartments, have been fitted up, under the direction of the Superintendent of the City, in the public building heretofore allotted for the Post and other public offices. JAMES MADISON. The story of the re-assembling of Congress is told by Paul Jennings, the colored body servant of James Madison and, afterwards, the servant of Daniel Webster, more clearly than by some learned writers. In his Reminiscences, he says: "Congress met in extra session, at Blodgett's old shell of a house on 7th street (where the General Post Office now stands).It was three stories high, and had been used for a theatre, a tavern, an Irish boarding-house, etc.; but both Houses of Congress managed to get along, notwithstanding it had to accommodate the Patent-ofi'ce, City and General Post-office, committee- rooms, and what was left of the Congressional Library, at the same time. Things are very different now." Tradition interestingly asserts that this Patent Office building was saved to Congress through the daring of Thornton, the designer of the Capitol. Seeing an English officer order a gun turned upon it, he dashed up, and leap- ing from his horse before its very muzzle, exclaimed excitedly: "Are you Englishmen, or Goths and Vandals? This is the Patent Office, the depository of the inventive genius of America, in which the whole civilized world is concerned.Would you destroy it?If so, fire away, and let the charge pass through my body." We cannot wonder at the discontent which followed the meeting of Con- gress under such unfortunate and disheartening conditions, nor that the occasion formed a pretext for those who had fought the city of Washington as a permanent seat of government, to be bitter in their expressions and criti The National Capitol 39

cisms.The city was still little more than a wilderness; the Capitol, the President's mansion and other government buildings were ruins.The very ground had been contaminated by the feet of an insolent, vandal-like enemy. The Library of Congress and many records of the government were ashes. In the course of debate, Mr. Stockton, Representative from New Jersey, not without cause, complained, "in regard to ourselves, here we are in the Patent office; in a room not large enough to furnish a seat for each member, when all are present, although every spot, up to the fire-place and windows, is occupied." Under the guise of a temporary removal, those interested in other cities pressed a permanent change in the seat of government to some more convenient and less dishonored spot.Mr. Jonathan Fisk of New York introduced the initial resolution which led to this; and in the war of words which ensued, the ground was all fought over before the project for removal was finally defeated, October 15th, by a vote of 83 to 74. Local feeling naturally was intense, and President Madison, who, in the original debates in the House of Representatives, had been active in favoring the establishment of the seat of government upon the banks of the Potomac, had now to exercise his utmost influence to keep it there. "The next summer" (1815), continues Jennings, "Mr. John Law, a large property holder about the Capitol, fearing it would not be re-built, got up a subscription and built a large brick building (now called the Old Capitol, where the Secesh prisoners are now confined), and offered it to Congress for their use, till the Capitol should be re-built.This coaxed them back, though strong efforts were made to move the seat of government North; but the Southern members kept it here." While yet in the Patent Office, both Houses had been considering measures by which they might be more conveniently accommodated, either by an alteration of their present chambers or by procuring other rooms within a convenient distance of public buildings; and if haste in acceptance means anything, they welcomed most cordially the proposals of the committee on behalf of the owners of the new " Capitol."On December 6, 1815, the committee on behalf of the House reported that they believed the building would "be ready for their reception on Monday next," and on Monday, the i ith, the Senate adjourned "to meet on Wednesday next, in the new building on Capitol Hill."This, the owners claimed, cost $3o,000 without the ground, $5,000 of which was expended in fitting it up for the use of Con- gress.They offered to lease it, after the repayment of the £ç,000, at a yearly rental of $r,6o, which was "an interest upon their capital of six per cent:, with the addition of the price of insurance"; and upon these terms the Presi- dent was authorized on the 8th to lease it for a term of one year, and "thence until the Capitol is in a state of readiness for the reception of Congress." 4° The National Capitol

Here Congress was still sitting when, on December x, 1817, Monroe in his annual message regretted that, though the progress of the public buildings had been as favorable as circumstances permitted, " the Capitol is not yet in a state to receive you.There is good cause to presume, that the two wings, the only parts as yet commenced, will be prepared for that purpose at the next session."It was not, however, until December 7, 1819, that he could say to Congress, who had met the day before "The public buildings being advanced to a stage to afford accommodation for Congress, I offer you my sincere congratulations upon the recommencement of your duties in the Capitol." THE REBUILDING OF THE CAPITOL

SOON after the bill for the removal of the seat of government was defeated and all chances in that direction made hopeless, at least for the present, measures were taken for the restoration of the public buildings.Latrobe was recalled from Pittsburg, where he was building steamboats in conjunction with Fulton, Livingstone and Roosevelt, his son-in-Jaw, to inspect the ruins of the Capitol and superintend its reconstruction. In the report of the committee, communicated to Congress November 21, 1814, the following is found to be the condition of the walls after the conflagration: "From the suggestions of the architects consulted and also from the observations of the committee, they are of the opinion that parts of the walls, arches and columns of the late buildings are in a state requiring a small expense for workmanship and materials, to preserve them from injury by the weather, and from falling down, thereby endangering the vaulting, which sup- ports some of the floors, and which, at present, is vesy little if at all, weak- ened by the burning." North and South Wings.From Latrobe we obtain a more specific knowledge of the damage done by the English, and of the process of rebuilding.In a letter written at the Capitol, November 28, s8s6, but not communicated to the House of Representatives until February i8, 1817, he says: "The South Wing of the Capitol."" The south wing of the Capitol remains inter- nally in the state in which it was left at the close of the year 1815, excepting in as far as the suggestions of the committee of the House of Representatives. . .have been so far executed as to prepare the south windows of their hail for an access to a platform along the south front.Externally all the injury which was done to the windows and doors by the fire, has been repaired.. . .The Hall of Representatives was so ruined that, although the columns and the vaults they supported still stood, it was inevitably necessary to take them down, so as to clear the whole area of the principal story of the former work." It seems that, when Congress resolved to repair and rebuild the Capitol, no building materials were to be found in the District.At that time the quarries, which were situated forty miles below the city on the Potomac, had beeft neglected for some years, and time and much labor would have been required to re-open them. For the columns," continues Latrobe in his report, "and for various other parts of the House of Representatives, no free-stone that could be at all admitted has been discovered.Other resources were therefore sought after.A stone hitherto considered only as an encumbrance to agriculture, which exists in inexhaustible quantity at the foot of the most 42 The National Capitol south easterly range of our Atlantic mountains, . . .certainly from the Roanoke to the Schuylkill. and which the present surveyor of the Capitol, and probably others, had many years ago discovered to be very hard but beautiful marblewas examined, and, has been proved to answer every expectation that was formed, not only of its beauty, but of its capacity to furnish columns of any length, and to be applicable to any purpose to which colored marble can be applied.The present commissioner of the public buildings has, therefore, entered into a contract for all the columns, and progress has been made in quarry- ing them.They may be produced each of a single block. . .The quarries are situated in Loudon County, Virginia, and Montgomery County, Maryland. "North Wing of the Capitol.""The north wing of the Capitol was left after the fire in a much more ruinous state than the south wing.The whole of the interior of the west side having been constructed of timber, and the old shingle roof still remaining over the greatest part of the wing, an intensity of heat was produced which burnt the walls most exposed to it, and, being driven by the wind into the Senate chamber, burnt the marble columns to lime, cracked everything that was of free-stone, and, finding vent through the windows and up the private stairs, damaged the exterior of the wing very materially.Great efforts were made to destroy the court room, which was built with uncommon solidity, by collecting into it, and setting fire to. the furniture of the adjacent rooms.By this means the columns were cracked exceedingly; but it still stood, and the vault was uninjured.It was, however, very slenderly supported and its condition dangerous.Of the Senate chamber no parts were injured but such as were of marble or free-stone.The vault was entire, and required no repair whatever.The great staircase was much defaced, but might have been reinstated without being taken down. In this state the north wing was found when the work on the Capitol was commenced in 1815.The plan of the wing was determined in 1807, and laid before Congress.The original document having escaped destruction, the work was begun in conformity thereto, and some progress made in the construction of the offices of the judiciary and of the library, when a very important and extensive improvement of the apartments of Senate was suggested by the honorable body, and ordered by the P'esident to be carried into execution. "In pursuance of this order, it was necessary U. take down the vaults which had been constructed on the west side of the house and to raise them to the level of the principal floor. This alteration was the only one which affected the work carried up in the year x8r5.It was affected in the months of May and June. The ruinous state of the building further required that the dome of the central vestibule, the colonnade, and all the vaulting of the court room, and the dome of the great stairs, with all the walls as far as they were injured, should be taken down.The enlargement of the Senate chamber required that the great dome of that apartment and its semi-circular wall be entirely removed, and that the arches and walls of the two committee rooms, and the lobby adjoining the chamber, should also be demol- ished.All this was promptly accomplished, and the new apartments carried up with all the speed which was consistent with solidity; so that all the Committee rooms or the floor of the Senate are completely constricted and vaulted, and the wall of the Senate chamber itself has advanced to the height of ten feet from the floor. "The new vault of the court room, much more extensive than the former, is also Com- pleted.All the new work is so constructed a in no part whatever to bear on the old walls, but to serve as a support to them; and the whole is so bound and connected together as to render the building much more strong and durable than it was before the conflagration."

About this time Jefferson writes to the Secretary of State: 'If it be proposed to place an inscription on the Capitol, the lapidary style requires that The National Capitol 43

essential facts only should be stated, and these with a brevity admitting no superfluous word.The essential facts in the two inscriptions are these: "Founded 179r.Burnt by a British Army 1814.Restored by Congress 18x7.

But a question of more importance is whether there should be one at all?The barbarism of the conflagration will immortalize that of the nation.It will place them forever in degraded comparison with the execrated Bonaparte, who, in possession of almost evety capitol in Europe, injured no one." In its construction and rebuilding the Capitol was never without the direct supervision of the Presidents.Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe and John Quincy Adams, each in turn, presided over its destiny and often descended to the consideration of the most minute details with a grace rather startling to the ideas of dignity commensurate withthe office in the minds of some later Presidents.During the work of restoration, in the spring of i8i 7, President Monroe guarded its rebuilding with a fatherly concern almost equal to that displayed by Washington in its building.He gave directions as to the Potomac marble to be used in thecolumns for the chambers of the House of Representatives and Senate and as to the quarry- ing of the same, not forgetting instructions for the workmen. He ordered that the dome of the Senate wing be built of brick and the corresponding one above the House of Representatives, of wood, adding specificdirections as to where and how materials for each should be obtained.He urged, beyond everything, the necessity of so far completing the building as to have it in readiness for the meeting of Congress the following fall.The President considered even the "tools, lumber, nails, spikes and provisions" for the Capitol, and ordered "sheds to be erected for the workmen, for cooking and as store houses without delay."At the same time, he gave directions for the distribution of provisions to the employés, the keeping of accounts and receipts, and for a report to be made to the Executive each Monday regarding the progress on the work. In November, r8i, the two wings being practically restored, Latrobe sent in his resignation and retired from the work, except to carry out in good faith the offer he had made in his letter of resignation, to give such drawings, instructions and information to the public as would enable his successor to complete the plans which he had begun and which, he seemed to think, could not well be altered.His motives for retiring, by his own account, were "partly personal," and though there was an undoubted difference between him and the Commissioner, and many complaints that he attended to his pri. vate affairs to the detriment of the work at the Capitol, there canbe little 44 The National Capitol doubt of his sincere attachment to the welfare of the building.Nor would his ability as an architect have been seriously questioned, had not an arch given way in i8o8, causing the death of Mr. Lenthall, and later, one above the corridor before the Supreme Court Chamber.In commenting upon the latter in a report made January i8, 1819, after his resignation, Latrobe says:

"The Centre of the north wing demanded light from above; and its symmetry with the south wing, which Could OOl be lighted by a cupola, demanded a similar construction on the north wing. "Therefore it was almost unavoidable, and certainly it was highly advisable, that the chimneys should be carried up as well as concealed in the piers of the cuj5ola.This had been done before, and, although the cupola was never raised above the dome, its base had existed, and, with the arches that supported it, remained unimpaired by the fire of 1814. But, deprived of this support, the object I had to attain was this: To con- struct over the cavity of the Senate chamber and its wooden dome an arch or other support sufficient to bear the cupola necessary to light the centre of the house, and also to carry sixteen or eighteen chimneys concealed in the cupola, and, at the same time, to produce a handsome effect in looking up from the vestibule of the Senate, from which the whole construction would be seen, And I believe that I perfectly attained this object in a'i its parts, provided the arch had been made to stand."

We undoubtedly owe to Latrobe the restoration and interior finish of the old wings, as wellas their surmounting cupolas and dome-shaped roofs. Statuary Hall, also, was his design.The old Capitol could not be called completed, however, until 1830, thirteen years after Latrobe's resignation and the succession to his position of Charles Bulfinch of Boston, the first architect of the Capitol who was American-born.During a visit to Washing- ton before he had the intention of making it his home, in a letter of Feb- ruary 7, i8i7, to Mrs. H. Bulfinch, Latrobe's successor writes: " Nothing announces a metropolis until we approach an assemblage of brick houses, forming a village, and immediately contiguous to them two stone edifices of richly ornamented architecture.These are the wings of the Congress hail; they were burnt, as far as they were combustible, and are now undergoing repair.They have been chiselled in such a mannerthat all external marks of fire are removed." How Bulfinch came to be architect of the Capitol is told by himself in his brief Autobiography: "About November following [r8i], I received a letter from William Lee Esq., one of the Auditors at Washington, and in the confidence of the President, stating the probability of the removal of Mr. Latrobe, the architect of the Capitol, and proposing that I should apply for his place.I declined making any application that might lead to Mr. La- trobe's removal; but before the end of the year, disagreements between him and the Commissioner became so serious that he determined to resign, and his resignation was immediately acceptedOn receiving iaformation of this, The National Capitol 45

in another letter from Mr. Lee, I made regular application through J. Q. A., Secretary of State, and by return Post received notice from him of my appointment, with a salary of $2,500, and expenses paid of removal of family and furniture." The new architect entered immediately upon his duties, taking the work up where Latrobe had left it; and on the 1st of May, i8i8, made a report to Congress, to which the last report of Latrobe was a reply, on the state of the unfortunate arch constructed by his predecessor in the roof of the north wing, from which the following interesting extracts are taken:

"When I entered upon the duties of my office as architect of the Capitol, and examined the state of the building, I found that a large arch had been built above the third story of thnorth wing, which was intended to support the stone cupola or lantern on the centre of the dome.I was pleased with the ingenuity and boldness of the design by which it was intended that a great number of chimneys should be carried upon this arch, and rise in the piers of the cupola between its windows...... as told that this arch had been constructed under the particular direction of Mr. Latrobe, and that the stones of the band or curb that formed the opening on the crown of the arch were cut by his particular orders, and put in their places before he left the superintendence of the building.I felt perfect confidence in Mr. Latrobe's genius as an architect, and his acknowledged skill as an engi- neer, that he had well considered the hazard of the proposed construction, and had taken every precaution against danger: and I gave direction to the workmen to proceed strictly according to their orders from him. "By the 23d of April the chimney flues were all brought into their position on the crown of the arch, when the master workman thought it would be proper to loosen the cen- tres, that the arch might be proved and take its bearings before the stone cupola should be built.On loosening the centre, it was found that the crown of the arch settled with it, and that the stones around the circular opening had moved in a few minutes so far as that the opening was four inches larger in one direction than in the other; the joints appearing vio-. lently compressed in some parts, and open on the others.The workmen left it in alarm and considered it very hazardous.I soon came to the determination that the arch could not bear the weight of the flues and stone cupola, estimated at aoo tons more than it was already charged with; and, after inspecting the foundation resolved to build a cone of brick from the bottom of the dome to the circular opening above, for the purpose of strengthening the arch and supporting the cupola. . "The great arch in the roof of the north wing is 40 feet in span from north to south, and 30 ft. wide from east to west, and rises in a semi-circle ;it is intended to support a Stone cupola 22 ft. in diameter, with 6 windows in its circumference, and as many piers between them, in which IS chimney flues are to be carried up from the different apartments of the building. A circular opening is made in the crown of the arch 55 ft. wide (the inner diameter of the cupola), to convey light to the interior, and particularly to the vestibule of the Senate chamber. One cause of the failure of this arch arises from the circumstance that the circular opening is not in the centre. . .. -. On taking down the centring which opened the soflit or under side of the arch to view, another cause of weakness appeared; the arch, which is two bricks thick, is ornamented with large caissons or coffers of three feet square, sunk in the depth of one bricks or half its thickness; these destroy the bond and connection of the work.. . .It would be dangerous to trust the arch to bear the weight." 46 The National Capitol

Later in the same month, Bulfinch reports:

"A cone of brick has been made under the opening of the arch; the chimney flues are now brought into their right position, and carried up to the top of the dome roof.The work appears fair and substantial, and capable of sustaining the stone lantern which will now immediately be built upon it." The architect continued to devote himself assiduously to the completion of the two wings only, as they were most necessary to the use and comfort of Congress.On November 21, i8s8, he reports regarding the condition of the north wing: "The stone masons have built, on the outside, the entire balustrade of the east and west sides, and the attic of the north front, and the stone cupola over the dome.Inside, they have laid the marble stairs leading to the principal floor, completed the colonnade of the vestibule and part of the gallery of the Senate chamber.The roof has been covered with copper; the apartments and passages of the upper story are plastered and paved; and the doors, shutters, and other carpenter's work will be finished in a few days.The court room is proceeding in a state of preparation for the use of the court in December.The ceiling of the Senate chamber is rough plastered.. . . The rich and costly colonnade and gallery of the Senate chamber. . . is to be wholly of marble, and was contracted for in New York to be executed there, and to be delivered here in November, 1817."

In speaking of the progress on the south wing, in the same report, Bulfinch says: "The columns of Potomac marble of the Representatives room have been prepared and set in their places; the stone entablature, with which they are crowned, and the brick arches connecting them with the walls, are built ; the stone enclosure forming the breast of the gallery is nearly complete; the ribs of the dome ceiling are raised and secured; the outer roof is now raising and will be covered in a fortnight, and the ballastrade is nearly entire." From these and other reports and letters of this period are seen the difficulty experienced and the interest taken in securing suitable marble for the beautiful pillars which adorn the old Senate Chamber, and more especially the old Hall of Representatives.The desire was so great on the part of the Commissioner and architect that, after securing sufficient breccia or Potomac marble for the shafts from the quarries in Loudon County, Virginia, Giovanni Andrei ivas sent in 5855 to Carrara, Italy, to procure of statuary marble their twenty-four Corinthian capitals.Latrobe, then architect of the Capitol, furnished the necessary drawings to govern in the execution of these, and passage was provided for the artist, as well as for Mrs. Andrei, his wife, on the United States con ette, John Adams The Central Structure Pre',ious to the fire a wooden bndge or coy- ered way only had connected the tho wingsks soon as these were restored, and completed in accordance with Latrobe's designs, Bulfinch turned his The National Capitol 47 attention to the central structure, which, except upon the west, he executed after drawings adapted from the designs which Latrobe had made in following but only where compelled to do soThornton's original plan.The former architeèt in his designs had enlarged the eastern portico, and added sub- stantially the present steps which lead from it to the campus.To prepare for the new work, it was found necessary on the west front to remove a great body of earth, rubbish and old foundation, and to broaden the old foundation of the basement story.On November r8, i8iS, the architect reports its new foundation as laid, the cellar walls of the rotunda as carried to a sufficient height to receive the arches intended to form the ground floor, and the external walls of the basement as commenced.The central porticoes and library rooms also were now built.The entire work progressed but slowly, however, as all work for the government is likely to do, and not until December 6, 1824, was the President notified: "The interior of the Capitol is now finished, with the exception of some painting on the stone work, which is not sufficiently seasoned to receive it, and the bas relief ornaments of the rotunda." The architect's bed evidently had not been one of roses; for John Trum- bull speaks of the "intrigues which perpetually controlled the good intentions and pure taste of Mr. Bulfinch."Trumbull seems to have enjoyed the architect's confidence, and to have been consulted in the plans for the central structure. Bulfinch, at first, proposed a staircase similar to the one in the City Hall in New York, but, as it would be imperfect without a dome light, which, in such a plan, could not come in the center of the building, Trum- bull apprehensively asked: "How then can you have the grand dome, even for show?"Such propositions touched the artist's heart.He was then at work upon his historical pictures which are now in the rotunda.In regard to the saloon proposed by the architect for a gallery of paintings, Trumbull complains: "The pictures must hang opposite to the windows, which is the worst possible light; besides which, the columns and projection of the portico will darken the room in some degree, and render what light there may be, partial and unsteady." "I am glad," he writes to Bulfinch, January 28, i8i8, "to know that so much is done, and magnificently done, at the Capitol; but I feel the deepest regret at the idea of abandoning the great circular room and dome.I have never seen paintings so advantageouslyplaced in respect to light and space, as I think mine would be, in the proposed circular room, illuminated from above. The boasted gallery of the Louvre is execrable for paintingswindows on each side, and opposite to each other, and the pictures hanging not only between them but upposite to them.. . . The same objection applies in its full force, to the proposed saloon or gallery in the Capitol; and I should he deeply mortified, if, after having devoted my life to recording the great events of the Revolution, my paintings, when finished, should be placed in adisad- 48 The National Capitol

vantageous light. In truth, my dear friend, it would paralyze my exertions, for bad pictures are nearly equal to good, when bothare placed in a bad light." The artist, with a view always to his pictures, hastenedto suggest compromise plans by which to save the dome, if possible.He proposed to "en- close the basement story of the two porticos, in thesame style of piers and arches, as in the wings, and to enter, under each portico,a hail forty-five feet by twenty, with apartments for door-keepers adjoiningtoopen a passage through the centre of the building, similar in style and dimensionsto those already existing in the wings, which I also continueso as to meet each other, thus forming a simple and obvious communication to all parts of theground plan.I suppose the inner diameter of the grand circular dome to be ninety feet, and the thickness of the wail five.Nine feet within this wall, I carry up a concentric circular wall of equal thickness to the height of the basement story.Between these two walls I place grand quadruple stairs, beginningat the doors of the two halls, and mounting on the right and left,to the floor of the dome vestibule.Twenty feet within this inner wall of the stairs, I raise a third concentric circular wall, of equal,or (if required) greater solidity." Around the inner walls of the stairs was to be a bronze railing fivefeet high, with gates at the four entrances, by which itwas intended to diminish the floor of the vestibule to seventy feet in diameter,so that the spectator could not approach nearer than ten feet to the wallon which his paintings were to hang, nor view them at a greater distance than eighty feet, which being a little more than three diagonals of the surface, the artistthought not by any means too great. Trumbull urged also that, whatever dislike there mightbe to Latrobe's designs in general, there could be none to that for therotunda and dome; for there the late architect had followed the original intentions,he said, "as projected by Major L'Enfant, drawn by Dr. Thornton,and adopted by General Washington.You will see it so marked on the plan of the cityengraved by Thackera & Vallence, in Philadelphia, in1792." "Myplan," he adds, "differs from that finally adopted by him, essentially, incarrying up the grand staircase wi/kin the room, thus rendering ita guard to the paintings, and leaving the basement of the two porticos, and the wholesubstructure, free and applicable to economical purposes.I also omit the grand niches which M. Latrobe had devised, I presume for thepurpose of sculpture.. . .I hope either upon my plan or some other,you can succeed to preserve the great central circular room.Indeed, I must entreat you to preserve it ifpos- sible; and I repeat, that the loss of that, inmy opinion, unrivalled situation and light for my pictures, I shall lose halfmy zeal." Trumbull's earnest appeals on behalf of his hrstoricalpaintings, no doubt, The National Capitol 49 had their influence.Bulfinch wholly discarded Latrobe's Doric temple proposed for a western entrance, and executed this part of the Capitol mainly after his own designs.He adopted a plan by which he gained space for the Library in the western center, and at the same time saved the dome. His administration saw the building at last reach asymmetry and convenience somewnat adapted, for that period at least, to the uses for which it was

THE CAPITOL, 1828 intended.The fault in placing the structure so close to the brow of the hill as to exhibit a story lower on its western front than on its eastern also was partially remedied through the skill of the architect, who somewhat destroyed the ungainly effect of the basement by a semi-circular glacis, or sloping, sodded terrace. By an act of May 2, 1828, there being no longer any necessity for an architect at the Capitol, that office was abolished, though Bulfinch continued to superintend the work until the latter part of June, 1829.In i83o, when the architect left Washington for New England, the old Capitol was substan- tially completed, though some minor details were later executed according to directions which he gave before his departure.The building then passed 4 50 The National Capitol under the direction of the Commissioner of Public Buildings and Grounds, who remained in supervision until the erection of the marble extensions in 1851. Cuts of this period show three domes, of which the one in the center above the rotunda was covered with copper, and much the largest.This was raised after Bulfinch's own design about 1822; those proposed by Thorn- ton and Latrobe were not so large." In the rotunda," writes Bulfinch, "a bold simplicity has been studied, suitable to a great central entrance and passage to more richly finished apartments.The room is 96 feet in diameter, and of the same height."The length of the entire building at that time was 352 feet 4 inches; the depth of the wings 121 feet 6 inches.The portico and steps, at the main entrance on the east front, projected 6feet ; while those on the west extended 83 feet.The height of the wings, to the top of the balustrade, was 69 feet and 6 inches; to the top of the old dome, 245 feet.Actual meas- urement shows the width of the present rotunda, which was not altered by Walter in his elevation of the dome, to be 7 feet 8 inches. The cost of the center building from April 20, i8i8, to May 2, 2828, is placed in the estimates of the Treasury Department at $1,208,904.43. The old Capitol covered 67,220 square feet of ground; and its parking contained 22a acres.In the old days, the park was enjoyed to the fullest extent by the public.Croquet grounds were marked off for the pleasure of those who lived near the Capitol; and until the commencement of the new terrace, the grounds were yearly the scene of much merriment on Easter, when the sodded embankments were given up to children for egg-rolling.The parking was enclosed until about 2874 by an iron fence except where the nine gatestwo for carriages both north and south, two for pedestrians on the east and three for them on the westopened to the walks and drives. Portions of the original fence and gates are still to be seen about the grounds of the Smithsonian Institution.They recall to the older inhabitants of the District the watchman's cry about nine o'clock, P.M., from the east front of the building: "Close the gates!"The driveway gates were not locked until much later than those to the walks.Congressmen, deiaved at the Capitol, were often seen to pick up a convenient stone and break a lock rather than seek peaceful exit. MARBLE EXTENSIONS

NOT many years elapsed before it became evident that the Capitol was not sufficiently commodious to meet the purposes for which it had been built, and that even the masterly forethought of George Washington regarding Congress House had failed to realize the demands soon to be made upon its capacity by increase of population, the admission of new States and the acquisition of vast territory. As early as 1843, the Senate concurred in a House resolution providing "That the Secretary of Var be requested to cause a plan and estimates to be prepared at the Topographical Bureau, or otherwise within his Department, and laid before Congress at its next session, for a room or apartment in the

THE CAPITOL, 1850 52 The National Capitol

Capitol, or to be added thereto, for the better accommodation of the sittings of the House of Representatives." Colonel Abert and Lieutenant Hum- phries, of the Topographical Bureau, and William Strickland, the architect, accordingly prepared a plan for the enlargement of the building by means of a south wing extending 103 4 feet and having a breadth of I524 feet.No further action, however, was taken by Congress at the time. On May i, 1850, in reply to a letter from Jefferson Davis, then a member of the Senate Committee on Public Build- ings, architect Robert Mills submitted a report, drawings and estimates for the extension of the Capitol by means of two wings and for the enlargement of the dome. The idea of two wings seems better to have met the views of the Senate. On the 28th of the same month, Chairman R. M. T. Hunter reported a plan which, though suggested by the work of the Top- ographical Bureau, had been materially altered by Mills; and on the9th of the following September, when the civil and diplomatic appropriation bill was before the Senate, Mr. Davis offered an amendment, which was adopted, providing for the enlargement of the Capitol according to plans to be agreed upon by a joint committee of both Houses, and for the payment of $ ioo,000 for each wing. The money was to be expended under the direction of the President, who was authorized to appoint an architect to carry out whatever plans were adopted.The House cut down this appropriation onehalf; and otherwise modified the language, so that the act, approved September 30, 1850, left to the President the approval of the plans as well as the appointment of the architect.This indicates that they had not the same preference for Mills which Davis enjoyed; and following the advertisement for and submission of plans, those of T. U. Walter of Philadelphia, the architect of the Girard College, were accepted by President Fillmore.Walter proposed white marble as the The National Capitol 53

building material; and that it might not be out of harmony with the main structure, he advised painting the freestone of the old building to match, or even facing it with marble.He was appointed architect in the early part of 1851,and his designs were formally approved by the President in June of that year.In the construction of the extensions, as well as of the dome, General Montgomery C. IIeigs, then Captain of Engineers, andV. B. Franklin, Captain of Topographical Engineers, also rendered valuable service. Laying of the Corner-stone.The following account of the laying of the corner-stone of the extensions, July4, x85i, istaken from the National In/elligencer of the 7th:

The National anniversary was, in its important incidents, the fineness of the weather, and its freedom from all untoward occurrences, perhaps the most interesting and agreeable ever enjoyed in this capital. The day was ushered in by salutes of artillery from different points of the city, and, as the glorious sun gilded our tallest spires, and shed a lustre on the dome of the Capitol, it was welcomed by a display of National Flags and the ringing of bells from the various churches and engine houses.Thousands of visitors from Georgetown, Alexandria, Prince George's, Montgomery, Virginia, and Baltimore poured in by every kind of conveyance. A very large proportion of these hastened to the Capitol, in hopes to secure an eligible place from which to hear Mr. \Vebter's speech ; others again pressed their way to the City Hall, to witness the first moving of the procession. In the large Council Chamber of the City Hall were assembled the President of the United States, the Members of the Cabinet, Officers of the Army and Navy in full uniform, the Mayor and Members of the Corporation, and various civil officers. At the appointed hour the various bodies were drawn into line.The first division of the procession was for the most part of visiting and local military companies.The array of officers of the Army and Navy was one of the most imposing features of the pageant, including amongst them 30 or 40 brave veterans with the Commander-in-Chief Scott at the head of the Military Division, and Commodore Morris at the head of the Naval, all in full uniform; Officers of the several States and Territories; officers and sol.. diers of the Revolution; and officers and soldiers of the War of iS 52. Then came the Civic Procession, composing the second, third, fourth, and filth divisions of the program: The second division was under Dr. William B. Magruder, as Marshal, and was arranged in the following order:

Persons present at the laying of the corner-stone of the Capitol in 1793. The President of the United States and Mayor of the City. Heads of Departments. Cabinet Members of former Administrations. Committees of Public Buildings of the Senate and House of Representatives, Architect o Capitol. Commissioner of Public Buildings. Heads of Bureaus. Judges of the United States Courts. Judges of the State Courts. Chaplains of the 3tst Congress. 54 The National Capitol

The Reverend Clergy of the District. Delegations from States and Territories. Washington Monument Society. Members of the Smithsonian Institution. Members of National Institute. Ex-Mayors of the City of \Vashington. The Corporate authorities of Alexandria, Georgetown and Washington. Members of the Society of Cincinnati.

The third division consisted of the Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons, who were attired in the regalia of the Order, bearing its various emblems, and forming a distinct feature in the pageant.Then followed the order of the Sons of Temperance, including their grand and subordinate divisions, with banners, etc., as before described. In about 30 minutes, the Procession entered the North gate of the Capitol grounds, and were drawn up in order around the excavation for the Cornerstone.The President of the United States, attended by Walter Lenox, Esq., Mayor of the City of Washington; the Heads of Departments; the Officers of the Army and Navy; George Washington Parke Custis, Esq.; the Reverend Clergy; the Masonic Order; and as many others as the limited space would accommodate, occupied the site of the contemplated edifice. After a salutatory by the Marine Band, and order being proclaimed, the Rev. C. M. Butler, D.D., Rector of Trinity Church, and Chaplain of the Senate, opened the ceremo- flies with fervent and impressive prayer. Thomas U. Walter, architect of the new building, then took a survey of the stone and deposited therein a glass jar, hermetically sealed, which contained a variety of valuable historical parchments, the coins of the United States, a copy of the Oration to be delivered by the Secretary of State, newspapers of the day, and other memorials. The Corner-stone of the new Capitol edifice was then, with great dignity and solemnity laid by Millard Fillmore, President of the United States, after which he gave way to the Masonic Fraternity.*Then services were opened with an excellent prayer by the Grand Chaplain, the Rev. Charles A. Davis.The "corn of nourishment, the wine of refreshment, and the oil of joy," were severally deposited according to the peculiar observances of the fraternity, viz.: The Grand Master examined the stone, applied the Square, level and plumb, and pronounced it properly formed, and of the suitable material for the purpose for which it was intended.He then placed upon it the corn, wine, and oil, saying as he did so, "May the all bountiful Creator bless the people of this nation, grant to them all the necessaries, con- veniences, and comforts of life; assist in the erection and completion of this edifice, pre- sen-c the workmen from any accident, and bestow upon us all the corn of nourishment, the wine of refreshment, and the oil of joy." He then said, "with this gavel, which was used by the immortal Washington, at the laying of the corner-stone of that Capitol, and clothed with the same apron that he then wore, I now pronounce this Corner-stone of this extension of that Capitol, well laid, true, and trusty," accompanying the last words with three blows of the gavel.He then presented to T. U. Walter, Esq., the Architect, the working tools, being the square, level, and plumb, accompanying the presentation with the following remarks: "Mr. Architect: I now, with pleasure, present to you these working tools of your own professionthe square, the level, and the plumb.We, as speculative masons, use them symbolically; you as an accomplished architect, well know their use practically, andmay the * Matthew G. Emory, ex.Mayor of the City of Washington, whobuilt the basement stories of the extensions, furnished all the granite and delivered the white marble for the wings, laid the corner-stone in preparation for the ceremony. The National Capitol 55

noble edifice, here to be erected, under your charge, arise in its beautiful proportions, to completion, in conformity with all your wishes, and may your life and health be long con. tinued, and may you see the work go on, and the cap-stone laid under circumstances as aus- picious and as happy as those under which the corner-stone, is this day laid." The line of the procession aiid the mighty multitude now changed positions nearer to the front of the stand from whence the addresses were to be delivered.Accompanied by the marshals of the day, the President and his escort, with the distinguished individuals already referred to, were conducted to seats upon the lofty platform. B. B. French, Esq., Grand Master of the Masons, then appeared in front (preceding Mr. Webster at his request), and delivered the opening address. Mr. Webster then rose from a chair next to President Fillmore and approached the front of the stand.He was welcomed by the hearty cheers of the multitude, and proceeded to read the address which he had prepared, a copy of which had been deposited in the corner-stone.He did not, however, confine himself to the manuscript, but occasionally extemporised new thoughts and other highly interesting reflections which together with the reading, occupied nearly two hours. The conclusion of these important ceremonies was announced by a salute of artillery from the public reservation at the north end of the Capitol and the military and civic associations returned in excellent order to their respective places of rendezvous where they were dismissed. The glorious day closed with a display of fire-works from the Mall south of the Presi- dent's house. Webster's oration was one of the most eloquent and comprehensive in his career.It was listened to by a large assemblage of people, who filled the eastern plaza before the Capitol, a much smaller amphitheater, however, than that to the east of the building at the present time.In the course of his address he called attention to the following account of the proceedings of the day, which, in his own handwriting, had been deposited within the corner-stone: "On the morning of the first day of the seventy-sixth year of the independence of the United States of America, in the city of Washington, being the fourth day of July. 1851, this stone, designated as the corner-stone of the extension of the Capitol, according to a plan approved by the President, in pursuance of an act of Congress, was laid by Millard Fillmore, President of the United States, assisted by the Grand Master of the Masonic Lodges, in the presence of many members of Congress; of officers of the executive and judiciary departments, national, state and district; of the officers of the Army and Navy; the corporate authorities of this and neighboring cities; many associations, civil, military and masonic; officers of the Smithsonian Institution, and National Institute; professors of colleges and teachers of schools of the District of Columbia with their students and pupils; and a vast concourse of people from places near and remote, including a few surviving gentlemen who witnessed the laying of the corner-stone of the Capitol by President Wash- ington, on the isth day of September, 5793. If. therefore, it shall hereafter be the will of God that this structure shall fall from its base, that its foundations be up-turned, and this deposit brought to the eyes of men, be it known that, on this day, the Union of the United States of America stands firm; that their Constitution still exists unimpaired, and with all its original usefulness and glory, growing every day stronger and stronger in the affections of the great body of the American people. and attracting more and more the admiration of the world. 56 The National Capitol

"And all here assembled, whether belonging to public or private life, with hearts devoutly thankful to Almighty God, for the preservation of the liberty and happiness of the country, Unite in sincere and fervent prayers that this deposit and the walls and arches, the domes and towers, the columns and entablatures, now to be erected over it, may endure forever !God save the United States of America! DANIEL WEBSTER, SecretaryofStateofthe United States."

Coustruction.Great difficulty was experienced in the building of the foundations, especially at the northwest corner of the Senate wing, where the soil was very sandy.At that point, the walls were sunk forty feet below the surface before firm strata could be found. In the fall of 1854, the walls of the House and Senate were up to the ceiling; but they were not covered in with the metal- lic and glass roofing until i86. The wings were practically complete in i 86i. The east portico of the north wing was finished in November, 1864. The walls of the beautiful extensions are of white marble from the quarries at //i Lee, Massachusetts, and are not inhar- monious with the walls of the old build- Ing, which are of yellowish freestone, painted whiteFift) Corinthian marble columns from quarries at Cockeysville, Maryland, are distributed about the exterior of each new wing and its connecting corridor.The shafts are fluted monoliths, and the capitals and pedestals also are carved of solid slabs of -4 0

C z

-4 C

z0 z0 The National Capitol 59

The style of architecture of the old Capitol, which, from the first, was of the Corinthian order, has been carefully preserved by Walter.Each marble wing is 142 feet 8 inches in length on the east front, by 238 feet io inches in depth, exclusive of porticoes and steps.The greatest depth, including the porticoes and steps, is 348 feet 6 inches. Each wing is connected with the old building by a north and south corridor feet in length by 56 feet 8 inches in width, enriched by Corinthian columns similar to those on the wings themselves.These marble extensions have increased the length of the Capitol to 751 feet 4 inches.It covers an area of 153,112 square feet.The official tabulation gives8,o75,299.o4 as the net expenditures by the government upon the extensions. Occupancy by Congress.The House met for the first time in the new Hall of Representatives in the south extension at twelve o'clock, December i 857. The new Senate Chamber was not ready for occupancy for more than a year later, January 4, i85, when the Senate moved from its old chamber, now devoted to the Supreme Court of the United States.Despite the bad weather and bad walking, for there were no street cars in Washington in those days, the Capitol was filled to overflowing with people desiring to see the ceremony of the removal of the Senate and its initial sitting in the new hail. The eagerness to be present at the exercises was so great that Mr. Stuart moved to admit ladies to the floor, which motion, however, was defeated through the objection of Mr. Hamlin. The report of the committee was first read by the Secretary.It stated that the new chamber was ready for occupancy, and that the seats had been arranged according to the plan presented with the report and the rooms assigned. The galleries to the left of the President were reserved for ladies accompanied by gentlemen, and those to the right for gentlemen alone.The central portion above the President's chairexcept the front desk, which was set apart for reporters of the Senatewas allotted to such reporters of the press as might be admitted thereto by the authority of that body.Mr. Crittenden moved the adoption of the report in an informal speech full of feeling at the thought of leaving the historic chamber. He was followed by the Vice-President, John C. Breckenridge, in a more elaborate and eloquent speech in the same vein.The Senators, preceded by the Vice-President, the Secretary and Sergeant-at-Arms, then marched to the new chamber and took the seats assigned them, whereupon the Vice-President called the body to order.After the Rev. P. D. Gurley, D.D., had offered prayer, the regular proceedings were resumed. THE DOME

THE marble extensions had not far progressed before it was strikingly apparent that they would dwarf and render out of proportion the central dome of the old Capitol.Then, too, the old dome had nearly caught afire when the Library burned in 185i, which was an additional reason for building a new one.The plans were prepared by architect Walter, and approved by the President.The old brick and wooden dome was torn away in and the present magnificent dome of iron, painted white to resemble the building, erected in its place.In this connection it is interesting to reflect upon the idea which Ruskin, the fastidious champion of pure architecture, suggests in his Lamp of Truth: "It may be perhaps permitted to me to assume that true architecture does not admit iron as a constructive material, and that such siorks as the cast-iron central spire of Rouen cathedral, or the iron rooms and pIllars of our railway stations, and of some of our churches, are not architecture at all.'' - There was not a day during the Civil war when the sound of the builder's hammer was not heard at the Capitol.Even when, in May, i86i, all work was ordered to be suspended, the contractors practically continued at their own expense to put in place the 1,300,000 pounds of iron castings then upon the ground.The outside of the spherical portion of the new dome was finished in 1863, though not until the next year was it painted and the scaffolding removed.By the close of 1865, the wings and the interior of the dome were completed, and Walter's work was done. The height of the building from the base line on the west to the crest on the new dome is 307 feet 6 inches.Rising, as it does; 287 feet 6 inches above the base line on the east front, away from all surrounding buildings, it is more imposing to the eye than the somewhat similar domes of St. Peter's at Rome, 448 feet high, designed by Michael Angelo; St. Paul's in London, 365 feet in height, designed by Sir Christopher Wren; or the dome of the Pantheon in Paris, which has a height of 258 feet.There is no dome in Europe more graceful in its lines and proportions. Great engineering skill was required in the erection of the dome.The walls had to be trussed, bolted, girded and clamped in every conceivable way to hold in position the immense superstructure.Even furnished with the figures, it is scarcely possible for the mind to appreciate its immense weight Salter calculated 1t, 8,oç,00 pounds of cast and wrought iron as gwing a The National Capitol 6x pressure of 13,477 pounds to the square foot at the basement floor, and the supporting walls as capable of holding 755,280 1)ounds to the same area.The pressure upon the walls of the cellar floor, exclusive of the weight of the Goddess of Freedom, is estimated at 51,292,253 pounds.The dome is composed of two shells, one within the other, which expand and contract wh the variations in temperature; between these the stainvay winds in its as- cent.The greatest diameter at the r base is 135 feet 5 inches.The cost of the new dome is officially given at $1,047,291.89. The thirty-six columns which surround the lower portion of the exteriorrepresentthethirtysix States in the Union at the time it was designed.The thirteen columns which encircle the lantern above the tholus are emblematic of the thirteen original States.This lantern is 24 feet inches in diameter and o feet in height.Its light notifies the surrounding country for miles of a night session in either House.The American flag, floating from the staff above either chamber, is the signal by day of the session of the House beneath. Until late years, except during the sittings of Congress, no flag floated from the nation's Capitol.This oversight was first pointed out by Colonel RichardJ.Bright,Sergeant-at- Arms of the Senate, through whose patriotic efforts the following clause was inserted in the sundry civil appropriation bill, approved August r8, 1894: "To provide flags for the east and west fronts of the centre of the Capitol, to be hoisted daily under the direction of the Capitol Policeboard, one hundred dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary."Like provision has been made each year since.Out of respect for noted dead, the flags float at half-mast, and in a very few instances the Capitol has been partiallydraped in black.On gala days, flags wave in the breeze from staffs placed near the top of the dome, and a few years since, for a short time, arc lights with reflectors were there suspended for the purpose of moreeffectively lighting the park. 62 The National Capitol

Dome-Entrance and Viesv.The narrow,tortuous stairway which leads to the dome rises from the circular vestibule before the entrance to the office of the Marshal of the Supreme Court. There are 365 steps in the ascension, one for each day in the year.The bird's-eye view from either the lower or upper circular balcony which encompass the dome amply repays the climb. This is graphically described by Mr. Spofford in his Eminent and Represen- tatiz'e Afen of Vfrg-thia and the District of C'olumbia: "Viewed from the vantage-ground of the capitol dome, or even the western portico, or more widely from the top of the Washington monument, the environs of Washing- ton present a landscape of rare beauty and varied effect.The near view includes the mass of the city, thickly covered with dwellings, stores, and shops, intersected by the two great arteries of Pennsylvania avenue, running to the treasury, and Maryland. avenue, running westward to the Potomac.At frequent intervals through the perspective of roofs, rise the tall steeples of churches and the massive white marble edifices of the various government buildings.Turning westward, the bright, broad current of the Potomac nearly a mile wide opposite the capitol_sweeps southward, while there comes in on the left, joining the main stream at Greenleaf's point (on which the government arsenal is situated), the deep current of the Anacostia, or eastern branch of the Potomac.To the south, on the heights beyond the eastern branch,. is seen the long mass of the government insane asylum buildings.On the Virginia shore rises a long forest-clad range of hills, amid which may be discerned Arlington heights, with its pillared edifice erected by George Washington Parke Custis, now occupied by the government, and its National cemetery or city of the dead, where 15,000 Union soldiers are interred; while the spire of Fairfax seminary, six miles distant, rises above the horizon in the direction of Alexandria. The latter little city, with its houses, churches, and shipping lying along the harbor, is clearly visible, and the river is at almost all seasons dotted with the sails of river craft and with steamers ply- ing up and down. To the northwest, over the roofs of the executive mansion anJ the new state department, rise the lofty and picturesque heights of Georgetown, attaining at the adjoining village of Tenallytown, just outside the borders of the District of Columbia, a height of some 400 feet above the level of the sea.To the north are seen the buildings of Howard university, crowning Seventh street hill, and beyond the towers of the Soldiers' home, a free refuge for the disabled soldiers of the army, comprising a beautiful park of 740 acres in extent. It was this delighful and comprehensive view which drew from Baron von Humboldt the remark, as he stood on the western crest of Capitol hill and surveyed the scene, 'I have not seen a more charming panorama in all my trasels How different the spirit with which Dickens described the same scene after beholding it, irs 1842"It isometimes called the City of \Iagmficent The National Capitol 63

Distances, but it might with greater propriety be termed the City of Magnifi- cent Intentions; for it is only on taking a bird's-eye view of it from the top of the Capitol, that one can at all comprehend the vast designs of its projec- tor, an aspiring Frenchman.Spacious avenues, that begin in nothing, and lead nowhere; streets, mile-long, that only want houses, roads, and inhabitants; public buildings that need but a public to be complete; and ornaments of great thoroughfares, which only lack great thoroughfares to ornament,are its leading features . . . a monument raised to a deceased project, with not even a legible inscription to record its departed greatness.Such as it is, it is likely to remain." We can imagine Mark Twain about z874, quite out of breath after strug- gling up the long flight of steps to the dome, contemplating with pitiful eyes his poor fellow mortals beneath."Now your general glance," he drawls humorously, "gives you picturesque stretches of gleaming water, on your left, with a sail here and there and a lunatic asylum on shore; over beyond the water, on a distant elevation, you see a squat and yellow temple which your eye dwells upon lovingly through a blur of unmanly moisture, for it recalls your lost boyhood and the Parthenons done in molasses candy which made it blessed and beautiful.Still in the distance, but on this side of the water and close to its edge, the Monument to the Father of his Country towers out of the mudsacred soil is the customary term.It has the aspect of a factory chimney with the top broken off.The skeleton of a decaying scaffolding lingers about its summit, and tradition says that the spirit of Washington often comes down and sits on those rafters to enjoy this tribute of respect which the nation has reared as the symbol of its unappeasable gratitude.The Monu- ment is to be finished, some day, and at that time our Washington will have risen still higher in the nation's veneration, and will be known as the Great- Great-Grandfather of his Country.The memorial Chimney stands in a quiet pastoral locality that is full of reposeful expression.With a glass you can see the cow-sheds about its base, and the contented sheep nibbling pebbles in the desert solitudes that surround it, and the tired pigs dozing in the holy calm of its protecting shadow. "Now you wrench your gaze loose and you look down in front of you and see the broad Pennsylvania Avenue stretching straight ahead for a mile or more till it brings up against the iron fence in front of a pillared granite pile, the Treasury buildingan edifice that would command respect in any capital. The stores and hotels that wall in this broad avenue are mean, and cheap, and dingy, and are.better left without comment.Beyond the Treasury is a fine large white barn, with wide unhandsome grounds about it. The President lives there.It is ugly enough outside, but that is nothing to what it is inside. Dreariness, flimsiness, bad taste reduced to mathematical completeness is what the inside offers to the eye, if it remains et w1iat it ah%ays has been 64 The National Capitol

"The front and right hand views give you the city at large.It is a wide stretch of cheap little brick houses, with here and there a noble architectural pile lifting itself out of the midstgovernment buildings, these.If the thaw is still going on when you come down and go about town, you will wonder at the short-sightedness of the city fathers, when you come to inspect the streets, in that they do not dilute the mud a little more and use them for canals." The Goddess of Freedoiii.The huge bronzevariously called "The Goddess of Freedom," "The Goddess of Liberty" and "The Indian God- dess "which to-day rests upon the great dome-pedestal, for some years awaiteditsdestination in the lawn southeast of the building.Two weeks were consumed in raising it to its present position.It had first been oxidated by an acid solution to produce a rich and uniform tint which,it was thought, would never change under exposure. As the head and shoulders, which were the fifth and crowning section of the figure, were placed in position, at noon on the 2d of December, 1863, a flag was waved from the top of the dome and the field battery in the grounds, thirty-five guns, fired the nationalsalute. This was answered successively by the guns of the forts then guarding the District of Columbia, and by the patriotic cheers of the multitude, who had gathered to see the statue of Freedomthe emblem THE GODDESS OF FREEDOM of a principle which was even then the (C,awford'z 0,-iginal nwdel) contention of two mighty armiesraised upon the dome. The statue, which faces to the east, was designed by Thomas Crawford, the father of the novelist, F. Marion Crawford, in Rome in 1855; andcast in the foundry of Clark Mills,near Bladensburg, in the District of Colum- bia.The original model of the sculptor in plaster hada liberty cap jewelled with a circlet of stars.In October, Crawford writes to Captain Meigs: It is quite possible that Mr. Jefferson Davismay, as upon a former occasion, object to the cap of Liberty and the fasces.I can only say in reply that the work is for the people, and they must be addressed inlanguage they understand, and which has become unalterable for themasses. "The emblems I allude tocan never be replaced by any invention of the The National Capitol

artist; all that can be done is to add to them, as I have done, by placing the circlet of stars around the cap of liberty: it thus becomes more picturesque, and nothing of its generally understood signification is lost.All arguments, however, must reduce themselves into the question: 'Will the people understand it?'I, therefore, hope the Secretary will allow the emblems to 'pass muster.' "I have said the statue represents 'armed Liberty.'She rests upon the shield of our country, the triumph of which is made apparent by the wreath held in the same hand which grasps the shield; in her right hand she holds the sheathed sword, to show the fight is over for the present, but ready for use whenever required.The stars upon her brow indicate her heavenly origin; her position upon the globe represents her protection of the American world the justice of whose cause is made apparent by the emblems supporting it." The present helmet, surmounted by a crest of eagle plumes, was adopted after considerable correspondence between the Secretary, Captain Meigs and the artist.On March i8, 1856, Crawford writes: " I read with much pleasure the letter * of the honorable Secretary, and his remarks have induced me to dispense with the 'cap' and put in its place a helmet, the crest of which is composed of an eagle's head and a bold arrangement of feathers, suggested by the costume of our Indian tribes."The Secretary's objections to the cap

* Vue DEPARTMENT, WASIUNGTON, Jan. 15, 1S56. CAPT. M. C. MEIGS, in charge of Capitol Extension. Washington City: Sir: The econd photograph of the statue with which it is proposed to crown the dome of the Capitol, impresses me most favorably.Its general grace and power, striking at first view, has grown on me as I studied its details. As to the cap, I can only say, without intending to press the objection formerly made. that it seems to me its history renders it inappropriate to a people who were born free and would not be enslaved. The language of art, like all living tongues, is subject to change; thus the bundle of rods, if no longer employed to suggest the functions of the Roman Lictor, may lose the symbolic character derived therefrom, and be confined to the single signification drawn from its other sourcethe fable teaching the instructive lesson that in union there is strength. But the liberty cap has an established origin in its use, as the badge of the freed slave; and though it should have another emblematic meaning to-day, a recurrence to that origin may give to it in the future the same popular acceptation which it had in the past. \Vhy should not armed Liberty wear a helmet?11cr conflict being over, her cause ti-i- umphant, as shown by the other emblems of the Statue, the visor would be up so as to permit, as in the photograph, the display of a circle of stars, expressive of endless existence and of heavenly birth.With these remarks I leave the matter to the judgment of Mr Crawford; and I need hardly say to you, who know my very high appreciation of him, tssa. I certainly would not venture, on a question of art, to array my opinion agaiast his, Very respectfully, your otkdient servant, JEEFERSON DAVSS, .reeretary i'f 66 The National Capitol were that it was the Roman badge of emancipation and inappropriate to a free-born people.It has been often asserted that he saw in it a fanciful menace to the South and her institution of slavery. The right hand of the figure rests upon the hilt of a sheathed sword; her left holds an olive branch, while resting upon a shield.At the waist, a broach bearing the letters "TI. S." holds the drapery in place.The statue weighs nearly 15,000 pounds, the weight of the heaviest of the five sections being 4,740 pounds, and is I95/ feet in height.Crawford received $3,000 for the plaster model; Mills, $9,800 for casting it in bronze; and $10,996.82 were paid for labor, iron-work and copper. It is perhaps well for the statue that its position, while most imposing, places it beyond the critical vision of even those who most highly appreciate Crawford's art.It is unfortunately now neither ancient nor modern, classic nor American.Under several equally inappropriate titles the public, with careless indifference, have come to idealize a mongrel statue which would have possessed more merit and appropriateness, had not politics, as is too often the case in America, contaminated art.It has been proposed to gild the statue.This would but make more glaring its imperfections. HE TERRACE

EVEN after the erection of the grand marble wings and the elevation of the dome, the Capitol, except on the eastern front, had an unfinished appear. ance despite the sodded embankment which formed the old terrace, especially devised by Bulfinch.This was well described by Watterston in 1842" Pro- ceeding through the western entrance of the Capitol you reach a spacious terrace, paved with Seneca freestone, and extending in a very beautiful sweep, from north to south.Beneath this terrace, which is below the level of the east front, is a range ofcaseinatearches, forming depositories for the wood and coal annually consumed in the building.The terrace is faced with a grass bank or glacis, and accessible by two flights of stone steps on either side of the open arches leading to the basement story of the Capitol.Under the middle of these is a handsome marble fountain, from which the water, brought through pipes from springs about two miles north of the Capitol, falls into a beautiful basin of white marble, and thence flows into a reservoir cased with stone, and in which has been erected a monument [now at Annapolisto the memory of young naval officers, Somers, Wadsworth,Israel, Decatur, Dorsey, and Caldwell, who gallantly perished off Tripoli, in 1804.It is a Doric pillar, with emblematic embellishments, etc., crowned with an eagle in the act of flying.The column ornamented with the prows of Turkish ves- sels, rests on a base, on one side of which is sculptured inbasso re//evaa view of Tripoli and its fortresses in the distance, the Mediterranean and American fleet in the foreground.The whole monument is of Italian marble, and its sub-base of American marble, found near Baltimore. " Further west is another fall or glacis, with stone steps, from the bottom of which three fine walks, paved with granite, lead to the principal western gates, one in the centre, one opening into the Maryland, and the other into Pennsylvania Avenue. On each side of the centre gateway are porters' lodges, which, with the stone piers to the gates, are constructed in the same style as the basement of the building.The public grounds around the Capitol are enclosed by an iron palisade or railing, bordered with a belt of forest and ornamental trees, shrubs, and flowers, and laid out into walks neatly gravelled, and also planted with fine trees.On each side of the centre walk are two small jetsd cau,supplied with water from the resenoir aboeA brick paement extends along the wall, on the outside, upwards of amile in length, 66 The National Capitol were that it was the Roman badge of emancipation and inappropriate to a free-born people.It has been often asserted that he saw in it a fanciful menace to the South and her institution of slavery. The right hand of the figure rests upon the hilt of a sheathed sword; her left holds an olive branch, while resting upon a shield.At the waist, a broach bearing the letters " U. S." holds the drapery in place.The statue weighs nearly 15,000 pounds, the weight of the heaviest of the five sections being 4,740 pounds, and is I/2 feet in height.Crawford received $3,000 for the plaster model;Iills, $9,800 for casting it in bronze; and $10,996.82 were paid for labor, iron-work and copper. It is perhaps well for the statue that its position, while most imposing, places it beyond the critical vision of even those who most highly appreciate Crawford's art.It is unfortunately now neither ancient nor modern, classic nor American.Under several equally inappropriate titles the public, with careless indifference, have come to idealize a mongrel statue which would have possessed more merit and appropriateness, had not politics, as is toO often the case in America, contaminated art.It has been proposed togild the statue.This would but make more glaring its imperfections. THE TERRACE

EVEN after the erection of the grand marble wings and the elevation of the dome, the Capitol, except on the eastern front, had an unfinished appearance despite the sodded embankment which formed the old terrace, especially devised by Bulfinch.This was well described by Watterston in 1842" Pro- ceeding through the western entrance of the Capitol you reach a spacious terrace, paved with Seneca freestone, and extending in a very beautiful sweep, from north to south.Beneath this terrace, which is below the level of the east front, is a range of caseinate arches, forming depositories for the wood and coal annually consumed in the building.The terrace is faced with a grass bank or glacis, and accessible by two flights of stone steps on either side of the open arches leading to the basement story of the Capitol.Under the middle of these is a handsome marble fountain, from which the water, brought through pipes from springs about two miles north of the Capitol, falls into a beautiful basin of white marble, and thence flows into a reservoir cased with stone, and in which has been erected a monument [now at AnnapolisJto the memory of young naval officers, Somers, Wadsworth,Israel, Decatur, Dorsey, and Caldwell, who gallantly perished off Tripoli, in 1804.It is a Doric pillar, with emblematic embellishments, etc., crowned with an eagle in the act of flying.The column ornamented with the prows of Turkish ves- sels, rests on a base, on one side of which is sculptured in basso reliero a view of Tripoli and its fortresses in the distance, the Mediterranean and American fleet in the foreground.The whole monument is of Italian marble, and its sub-base of American marble, found near Baltimore. " Further west is another fall or glacis, with stone steps, from the bottom of which three fine walks, paved with granite, lead to the principal western gates, one in the centre, one opening into the Maryland, and the other into Pennsylvania Avenue.On each side of the centre gateway are porters' lodges, which, with the stone piers to the gates, are constructed in the same style as the basement of the building.The public grounds around the Capitol are enclosed by an iron palisade or railing, bordered with a belt of forest and ornamental trees, shrubs, and flowers, and laid out into walks neatly grarelled, and also planted with fine trees.On each side of the centre walk are two small jeLs' d'eau, supplied with water from the resersoir abo%e A brick pavement extends along the wall, on the outside, upwards of a mile in length, 68 The National Capitol

THE NAVAL MONUMENT and the square or public grounds form, in fine weather, one of the most beau tiful promenades in this country." The present terrace, which greatly enhances the beauty of the building, was designed by, and constructed under the direction of, Etwar4l Clark, the present distinguished architect of the Capitol.Clark was first initiated into office as the assistant of Walter, the architect of the extensions, and assumed his present position after the completion of the marble wings and the new dome, upon which his best energies and talents had been displayed in second- ing Walter's plans. The National Capitol 69

The approaches were begun in 1882; the terrace itself was not commenced until two years later, nor finished until 1891.This grand esplanade, which extends along the entire north, south and west fronts of the Capitol, is built principally of Vermont marble. The large interior space secured to the building by means of this addition is occupied by electric plants and the fur- naces and engines which heat the building, and by committee rooms and those devoted to the use of the custodian of art.The total cost of the terrace to the government has been about $750,000. The cost of the Capitol up to June 30, 1883, is estimated at $15,599,656, of which $703,455.80 S officially given as the cost of repairs upon the building from March 2, 1827, to March 3, r875. On summer evenings, when the heat drives the townsfolk from their homes, there is no more popular resort than the terrace-promenade.The gay summer dresses, and the chatter of the voices of the merry throng upon the steps and along the balustrade, counting the stars or gazing languidly down the long line of lights that mark the avenues and streets of the heated city, form quite an Italian picture.In hushed moments, the idler's ear catches rippling laughter from the shadow of some column, bespeaking the embrace stolen while a friendly cloud masks the moon.How to scholars the scene recalls Horace's drinking song for winter, in imitation of an ode from Alceus; for there the Roman poet in imagination invokes the pleasures of Youth, the camp and the promenade, and the enticing laughter of the maid coyly crouching in a corner or angle of the street or near houses of an evening in Rome, some two thot- sand years ago!The world has not so much changed; for modern fancy whispers: The night is still ; come wander, dear, Along an old familiar way; Mine arm about thee, once more hear The old familiar lover's lay.

See, sweet, the moonbeams kiss the dome The great white dome, the peoples' shrine; Along the esplanade we'll roam,- 'Twas there you promised to be mine.

See how the clouds throughout the west Still fond embrace each fleeting ray; So to my heart with man's poor zest I clutch thy heart; it is my day.

See, love, the city careless sleeps, Nor knows thy hearfs the richest mine, Where Forttine's delver proudly reaps Bright golden hours of joy divine. 70 The National Capitol

See yonder, love, the ivy clings Unto a bird-nest balcony, Thence Fancy's wedding bell first rings, A dear old spot for you and me.

Come back, come back, my own sweetheart Along the terrace this night stray We'll play at love with youthful art, And live again departed day. The night is soft, the night is fair, Come wander there once more with me; Oh, great dome-shadows be the lair, For love-kiss as ye used to be!

No Autumn cools the blood to-night,-- Rosalia's veins are May again; Let heart thrill heart in pulse-born fright, Love madly as you loved me then.

On nights when the moon is full and the great dome and columns are silvered by its rays, the whole pile appears like a cameo cut in the sky. The terrace is then a place of enchantment, and the night-visitor exclaims with Tom Moore: "Now look, my friend, where faint the moonlight falls On yonder dome, and in those princely halls."

Another occasion when the Capitol rises in dignity almost sublime is in the midst of a great storm.To see the lightnings cleave the clouds and play harmlessly upon the iron dome, is a sight to dwell in memory forever.The sunsets, too, from the western steps, are unsurpassed in beauty, even in Venice. This terrace is the last touch upon the Capitol.The great pile to-day, although designed piece by piece under the direction of various architects, has none of the patchwork appearance common to so many of the great buildings of the world,From any one of the magnificent views to be had of the imposing structure, it presents the symmetry, unity and classic grace of a building designed and executed by one master mind.It has grown as the nation has grown. The corner-stone was laid by Washington in x the terrace was finished nearly a hundred years later, in 189r; and yet the Capitol will never be complete while the nation lasts.The impress of each succeeding generation will be found upon its walls, marking the intellectual, artistic and governmental advancement of the age.The great pile is national, American, human On its walls is written the nation's history Its comdors resound to the footsteps of her living heroes and sages, its e%ery stone echoes the departed voices of her greatest dead. THE NATIONAL CAPITOL-WEST FRONT The National Capitol 73

Marshall's Statue.At the foot of the terrace, between the two main western stairways, is a bronze statue on whose base is inscribed: "John Mar- shall, Chief Justice of the United States.Erected by the Bar and the Con- gress of the United States, A.D. MDCCCLXXXIV." This admirable work is by the American poet-sculptor, W. W. Story, and was executed in Rome in 1883. On the north side of the base is abasso-rilieroin white marble representing " Minerva Dictating the Constitution to Young America" ; on the opposite side, "Victory Leading Young America to Swear Fidelity at the Altar of the Union."The statue reminds us of the recollections of Good- rich, who visited the city in the winter of 1819-20: "Among the judges were Marshall and Story, both of whom riveted my attention.The former was now sixty-four years old, and still in the full vigor of his career.He was tall and thin, with a small face, expressive of acuteness and amiability.His personal manner was entirely dignified, yet his brow did not seem to me to indicate the full force of his great abilities and lofty moral qualities.I saw him many times afterward, and learned to look with reverence upon him, as being the best representation of the era and spirit of Washington, which lingered amongst us."

STORY'S MARSHALL THE CAMPUS

Greenough's Statue of Washington.On the eastern plaza, about five hundred feet from the Capitol, resting upon a low granite pedestal, is a colossal statue in marble of Washington, whichhas enjoyed a remarkable history.The figure, scantily arrayed in the toga of a Roman senator, is represented in a sitting posture. The left hand clasps a short sword, the right points towards heaven.This is the work of Horatio Greenough. It is the birth of my thought," the artist writes." I have sacrificed to it the flower of my days and the freshness of my strength; its every linea- ment has been moistened with the sweat of my toil and the tears of my exile. I would not barter away its association with my name for the proudest fortune avarice ever dreamed of.In giving it up to the nation that has done me the honor to order it at my hands, I respectfully claim for it that protection which it is the boast of civilization to afford to art, and which a generous enemy has more than once been seen to extend even to the monuments of his own defeat." Greenough must have had an attractive personality to call forth the following praise from Emerson: " At Florence, chief among artists I found Horatio Greenough, the American sculptor.His face was so handsome, and his person so well formed, that he might be pardoned, if, as was alleged, the face of his Medora, and the figure of a colossal Achilles in clay, were ideali- zations of his own.Greenough was a superior man, ardent and eloquent, and all his opinions had elevation and magnanimity.He was a votary of the Greeks, and impatient of Gothic arL" On the base of the statue, also designed by Greenough, are inscribed words from General Henry Lee's oration before Congress December x6, 1799, which were embodied as well in the resolution on the death of Washington, introduced into the House on the r9th by John Marshall, then a Representative from Virginia: "First in War, First in Peace, First in the Hearts of his Countrymen." On the back of the Roman chair is the following Latin inscription: Smu1acrum isuid ad magnum Libertatis exemplum nec sine ipsa duratu rum Horatius Greenough faciebat.* Horatio Greenough made this statue as a grand example of Liberty nor without it would it endure Simulacrum is generally used of a statue of a godtherefore st!num The National Capitol 75

The desire to honor Washington with a suitable statue was early manifest. On August 7, 1783, the Continental Congress resolved unanimously, ten States being present, that anequestrianstatue of George Washington be erected at the place where the residence of Congress should be established. The resolution further specified that he be represented " in a Roman dress, holding a truncheon in his right hand, and his head en- circled with a laurel wreath." This resolution wis never carried into effect. On the i8th of February, 1832, the House of Repre- sentatives resolved "That the President c f the United States be authorized to employ H3- ratio Greenough, of Massa- chusetts, to execute, in marble,a full length pedestrian statueofWashington,to be placed in the centre of the rotundo of the Capitol the head to be a copy of Houdon's Washington, and the accessories to be left to the judgment of the artist." The Secre- tarv of State immediately GREENOCGH'S WASHINGTON addressed aletter of instructions to Greenough for carrying the resolution into effect.The contract itself with the artist was made under the act of July i4th, which appropriated $5,000 "to enable the President of the United States to contract with a skilful artist to execute, in marble, apedestrianstatue of George %\ashington, to be placed in the centre of the rotundo of the Capitol." The question as to what constituted a pedestrian statue was popularly mooted at the time.The artist evidently disregarded the controversy, if he would be better.Fedi would be better Latin than /uieat: while a decidedly prefer2ble arrangement of words would be "ad exemplum Libertatis magnum nec sine ipsa dura- turum "-" gieat and not destined without itto endure."The one thing absolutely Wrong, as it seems, is istud, which should be hac. 76 The National Capitol was at all aware of it, and followed the bent of his own desire;and the authoritiesthemselves accepted without questionthe undraped Roman Washington enthroned in a chair of state in fulfilment of a contract which, as well as the act of September 9, 1841, making the final appropriation, expressly called for a pedestrian statue. The statue, which weighs nearly twenty-one tons, was chiseled in Florence. Upon its completion, the difficulty of bringing it safely to America arose; and by a resolution passed May 27, 1840, the Secretary of the Navy was authorized to take immediate measures for its transportation and erection in the National Capitol.Commodore Hull was sent with a vessel of war to take it on board, but 'when he found it would be necessary to rip up her decks in order to place the cumbersome burden in the hold, he demurred. A mercha.nt- man, the American ship Sea, Captain Delano, was then chartered for the purpose, her hatches enlarged, and the decks otherwise prepared to receive the huge marble.The passage was made in safety in spite of the danger from such an unwieldy cargo, and the statue was transferred to the Capitol without breaking, in 1841.The doors at the east front of the building were found, however, to be too small; and the masonry had to be cut away before the marble finally reached its proposed resting place in the rotunda, at Green- ough's request, between its center and the door leading to the Library. " In this hail," writes Dickens in 1842, " Mr. Greenough's large statue of Washington has been lately placed.It has great merits of course, but it struck me as being rather strained and violent for its subject.I coind wish, however, to have seen it in a better light than it can ever be viewed in where it stands.'' The effect of the statue generally was disappointing.It awakened the ridicule especially of the Congressional wits and connoisseurs; and the Sen- ate in 1842 added aw amendment, which was finally adopted, to the appropriation bill, providing $I,00o for its removal.When on May iith this clause came before the House, Mr. Keim of Pennsylvania moved to amend it by "an appropriation of $3,500 for the construction of a suitable pedestal to the statue, to be approved by the President and heads of Departments." This was the straw that broke the Congressional camel's back.The debate which ensued was highly amusing, and if not in the Globes, might require expurgation. Mr. Keim in support of his amendment said that, so far as the committee were concerned, they were willing that "the statue should remain as it was, much like a Hindoo suttee, with a marble corpse on a funeral pile.The question was merely whether the statue of Washington should remain on a pedestal of yellow pine boards, covered over with coal dust, or be removed to a more appropriate place, and have a more suitable pedestal " Mr Joseph R Ingersoll observed that "the statue had been placed in the centre of the The National Capitol 77

rotundo, in a spot which had been previously prepared to receiveso great a weight, by the erection in the story below, of amass of solid mason work reaching up to and supporting the floor of the apartment.The Secretary had given directions to the sculptor Pettrick to prepare the design ofa suitable pedestal." After a few more words by Mr. Ingersoll, eulogistic of Pettrick, whowas a pupil of Thorwaldsen, Mr. Wise inquired whether " the pedestal was not in strictness a part of the statue and whether Mr. Greenoughwas not bound to complete it as such for the compensation already allowed him ?" Hewent on to say that, " to himself, it seemed something like Jewing the Government to send them an incomplete thing, and then claim to do the residue fora new compensation."He ridiculed the statue roundly, and said, in commenting upon its want of drapery, that "he must confess it had on him much the same effect it had on a gentleman of Maryland, one of the old school, who, having heard so much said of the statue, mounted his horse and rodea long distance purposely to look at it.Having hitched his horse before the Capitol he mounted the steps and entered the rotundo, where after looking at thestatue for a few seconds, turned from it as he said the father of his country would do, who was the most modest of men." After exhausting himself in ridiculing "the naked statue of George Wash- ington," Mr. Wise turned his attention to the inscription on the back, which he characterized as "bad Latin written in italy."At Mr. Fillmore's inter- position, the chair here called Mr. Wise to order for irrelevancy, but hewas not done with the Latin.He criticised the use of " the imperfect tense' faciebat' for 'fecit'"; and went on to say that "a countryman entering the ró- tundo by the Library door, seeing the back of the statue, would very naturally ask, 'Who is this ?'And looking at the inscription, would say to himself, 'Simul Acrum! Who is Simul Acrum ?'But the next word [istud] would tell him."The speaker further said that "he preferred seeing Washington as Houdon had represented him in the statue in the Capitol at Richmond, about which Persico, the sculptor, had told him this anecdote.When he had visited Richmond he had gone to see the statue.Now Persico, although an Italian, gesticulated with all the extravagance of a Frenchman; and, as he stood looking at it in admiration of the beautiful head, expressed by gestures his abhorrence of the dress and figure, and his wish that the head could be cut off and preserved, while the rest was destroyed. A Virginia sentinel, who was always on guard in the space before the statue, seeing a foreigner making signs to show his wish to cut off Washington's head, very unceremoniously stepped up to him, saying: 'There's the door!Begone!'So in regard to this statue of Greenoughif the head could be preserved, he wouldote to throw the body into the Potomac to hide it from the eses of all the world, lest the world should think that that was the people's conception of their Nation's father The National Capitol

Not long after the appropriation for the removal had been made, Green. ough, convinced, as he says, that " the descent of the light upon the work is so nearly vertical as to throw all the lower portions of the faceinto shade, and to give a false and constrained effect to the whole monument," memori- alized Congress to remove the statue to the grounds in front of thewestern façade of the Capitol.The position recommended a few days later by the committee was" in the open green space in theeasterngrounds, lying directly in front of the main entrance to the rotundo, and between the two gravelled shaded svalks leading eastward from the Capitol through those grounds." In his memorial, Greenough takes occasion to answer his detractors for their criticisms of his statue on the score of nakedness: "When contemporary designs had portrayed Frederic the 2d with his huge walking stick, and his preposterous queue, when the sculptors of the age of Louis x4th had elabo- rately copied the redundant periwig, the cumbrous robes, and stilted shoes of that monarch, without doubt the assembled courts of France and of Prussia saw in these representations images as imposing as they were exact.What is the effect which they now produce ?Irresistible laughter. "In the celebrated group of Laocoon, that personage, though overtaken by the ministers of vengeance while officiating at the altar, is represented without his pontifical robes.He is naked.Though the Romans had not only a distinct national costume, but different dresses for the several orders in the state, yet the Senate, to record its veneration for Pompey, erected within its halls a naked statue of that champion.Though Napoleon gave what has to many seemed an undue attention to his imperial attire, and though the associations connected with his gray coat and his three-cornered hat always commanded the enthusiasm of the army, yet when Canova was called on to cross the Alps that he might give to posterity the image of the emperor it was without either the clap-trap of the palace, or the conventional sublime of the uniform, that he chose to appear before his successors.He was represented naked." ' Your memorialist," continues Greenough, "having already outlived the sneer with which it was intended to crush his first effort to make a bustof a distinguished fellow-citizen 'without a shirt,' trusts that the prejudice which has yielded in these few years the neck and shoulders as objects not unfit to be looked upon, will continue to decline before the efforts of high art, until his successors in sculpture shall be enabled to show that the inspired writer meant not merely the face, when he declared that God had made man after his own image." The limitation of the contract regarding costas as freely exceeded as its requirements in design From iSi to 1835 inclusre, four appropriations of $,000 each were voted by Congress to pay for the statue, and the act of 1841, already referred to, provided $ r 5, ioo more, or as much thereof as might The National Capitol 79

be necessary.Thus far, this horseless "pedestrian" statue has cost the government, including the amounts paid to the artist, for work and materials, the cost of transportation from Italy to the Navy Yard, from that place to the rotunda and thence to its present site, $42,170.74. The ill-fated statue is artistic, but thoroughly inappropriate to the purposes for which it was executed, and thoroughly meaningless in design.The critic, however, must bear in mind the artist's point of view." Had I been ordered," he writes, " to make a statue for any square or similar situation at the metropolis, I should have represented Washington on horseback, and in his actual dress.I would have made my work purely an historical one.I have treated the subject poetically and confess I should feel pain in seeing it placed in direct and flagrant contrast with every-day life.Moreover, I modelled the figure without reference to an exposure to rain and frost, so that there are many parts of the statue where the water would collect and soon disiniegrate and rot the stone, if it did not by freezing split off large fragments of the drapery."To guard against this, the statue each winter is housed where it stands in a hideous frame structure which is an eye-sore to the Capi- tol.The modern suggestion of placing it in a pretty Greek temple, no doubt took rise in the artist's own suggestion at the time of the removal, to erect over it " such a shelter as, while it shall insure suitable protection and light for the statue, shall be, by its form, proportions, and material, harmonious with the Capitol itself, and ornamental to the grounds.The building thus proposed, while it may be considered a mausoleum of Washington, will also afford a proper receptacle for such other busts and statues of historic interest as are at present entirely lost to the public."Who would dare to propose this to Congress to-day? Notable Events.Wednesday evenings in the summer months, when the weather permits, the Marine Band plays on the eastern plaza for the education and enjoyment of the general public.This open campus has been the scene of nearly as much historic happening as the great pile itself. On the night of April i, 1865, two horsemen might have been seen gal- loping wildly up New Jersey Avenue, crossing this hill towards the bridge to Anacostia and hastening on to Maryland.In their flight, they almost crossed the shadow of the dome, but a short distance from the spot where Lincoln twice took the oath of office as President.The one was John Wilkes Booth, the other, Harold, his accomplice. We recall a ghastly coincidence.The van which, during the long trial, carried Charles Guiteau from the jail to the court and return, daily took almost the same route along which Booth galloped that awful night, and equally within sight of the spot where Garfield became President. This campus was the objective point of Coxey's "Army of the Common- weal" in the year of our Lord, 1894.It was May Day, and the plaza was 8o The National Capitol thronged with holiday-makers curious to look upon the so-called army.Its three or four hundred men, ragged, dirty, unsheltered and weary after their march of six hundred miles, had been scantily fed by the chimera held out to them by" General" Coxey, who proposed, from the steps of the Capitol, to deliver an oration petitioning Congress to issue irnmediately$5oo,000,000 in paper money to be used in alleviating the sufferings of the workingmen throughout the country by employing them upon the public roads.The "army" was a curious spectacle, as heterogeneous as its contingent, the "Coxey Band," each member of which had devised some unique instrument of torture of his own, to say nothing of his individual tune.By the "Gen- eral's" side in a phaeton sat Mrs. Coxey, proudly holding in her arms their promising infant, "Legal Tender" Coxey. Congress and the city officials were so impressed with the dangerous aspect of the invasion, which the press had magnified for weeks, that squads of mounted police guarded the Capitol reservation.The " army" reached the grounds about one o'clock.City policemen escorted the" General" through the dense crowd to the central eastern steps.Here he was within the jurisdiction of the Capitol police, who literally elbowed him, his manuscripts and "army" back into the jurisdiction of the city authorities.The "Gen- eral" after some oratorical remonstrance gave up the fight. Not so his lieutenants, "Marshal" Carl Browne and Christopher Columbus Jones!In their ardor -for the good cause, these worthies unfortunately disregarded the law to "Keep off the Grass," whereupon they were promptly surrounded by officers on horseback and arrested.An hour later, no trace of the contending forces was left upon the battle-field. In this connection it is interesting to notice that it is forbidden by act of Congress to" make any harangue or oration" within the Capitol grounds.It also is forbidden by the same act there "to parade, stand, or move in proces- ions or assemblages, or display any flag, banner, or device designed or adapted to bring into public notice any party, organization, or movement."Congress has placed it, however, within the power of the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, acting concurrently, to suspend on proper occasions the above prohibition.In the bitter campaign of the fall of 1896, permission was granted to William Jennings Bryan to speak from the eastern steps.Speaker Reed, though among the strongest political antagonists of the principles to be presented by the orator, generously united with the Vice-President in granting the permission.Mr. Bryan, however, finally abandoned his intention as likely to form a bad precedent. Inaugurations.From the central portico, once in four years, a large platform is customarily erected, which holds in the neighborhood of 2,500 persons At the front of thu sooden platform is placed a small raised pulpit and there on the 4th of March, rain or shine, the President-elect is sworn into The National Capitol 8z

office by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.The crowd filling the space below, eager both to see the ceremony and listen to the inaugural, has been estimated often at over ioo,000 persons. The first citizen who took the oath of office as President out-of-doors, after the removal of the seat of government to Washington, was James Monroe, on March,x 817. The National Intelligencer of the day before published a programme of the ceremonies, which were to have taken place in the hall occupied by the Representatives, where the Senators were to enjoy the privilege of the front row of chairs and the Members find such accommodations as they could; but in its issue of the 4th, that paper said: "The committee of arrangements have been induced to alter the form of the ceremony, intended to have been observed at the inauguration of the 4th March, and the President elect will take the oath of office at 12 o'clock, in a Portico, to be erected in front of the Congress Hall for that purpose.The cause of this change of arrangement is principally ascribed, we believe, to fears of the strength of the building in which Congress sit, but in a degree also imputa- ble to a difference between the two Houses, or their officers, in the mode of appropriation of the Representatives' Chamber to the purposes of this ceremony." Congress was then sitting in the "Old Capitol " east of the grounds. Vice-President-elect Daniel D. Tompkins was sworn into office by Mr. Gail- lard, and delivered his address.The Senate then adjourned for an hour upon the motion of Mr. BarbourMadison, Monroe and the justices of the Supreme Court having previously entered the chamber.The Senators and marshals of the day accompanied the presidential party to the portico, where the inaugural was delivered and the oath of office administered by Chief Justice Marshall. John Quincy Adams took the oath of office on the central portico in 5825, and itis said that Andrew Jackson, the unsuccessful candidate, was the first to take the President's hand after the ceremony.The Intelligencer tells us: "No less than four large eagles were seen poising themselves directly over the Capitol for about ten minutes, when one of them, apparently larger than the rest, began to descend, and after making a number of circles around the centre dome arose in graceful spirals.Was their attention attracted by the immense concourse of people about the place, or was the par- ent eagle, which before made her appearance in almost the same place when our last venerable Chief Justice was conducted into office, now sent by our guardian spirit with her brood from their mountain eyry to augur continued and increased prosperity to our happy country?" Four years later the great Chief Justice administered the oath upon the same spot to Jackson at his first inauguration, which was the scene of un- precedented enthusiasm.The President-elect and Van Buren rode to the Capitol in a phaeton, presented by citizens of New York, made of wood from 6 The National Capitol the old Constitution.The appearance of the rabble which overran Washing- ton on this occasion has often been compared with the descent of the barbarians upon Rome.From the descriptions of the doings of the people, the comparison is not unfavorable to the barbarians.A ship's cable, stretched across the central eastern steps, about two-thirds of the way up, couldscarcely restrain the madly enthusiastic throng as "Old Hickory," the hero of New Orleans, came upon the President's portico to deliver his inaugural.Ten thousand persons, which was a huge multitudejor that day, are estimated to have witnessed the exercises and afterwards to have run riot in the halls and upon the lawns of the White House in wild demonstrations of joy.Marshall administered the oath, for the last time, again to Jackson in 1833. Chief Justice Taney administered the oath of office on the east front of the Capitol to Van Burenfl1837, to the elder Harrison in 1841, to Polk in 1845, to Taylor in 1849, to Pierce, who, it is claimed, was the first to memorize his inaugural, in 1853, to Buchanan ifl 1857, and to Lincoln, on the occasion of his first inauguration, in i86z.Lincoln was then stopping at Willard's Hotel, and Buchanan, who had been detained at the Capitol signing bills, drove thither for him.On the return, the open barouche, with Senators Baker and Pearce on the front seat, was surrounded by a guard of honor of regular cavalry.After the ceremony in the Senate Chamber, Mr. Baker formally introduced Lincoln to the 30,000 persons in waiting upon the eastern plaza.When the President-elect began to read his inaugural, the wind was blowing briskly, and he laid his heavy cane across the manuscript to keep the sheets from flying away. He looked pale and anxious, but read his address firmly and distinctly despite the lack of applause. It fell to the lot of Taney's successor on the bench, Chief Justice Chase, to administer the oath of office out-of-doors, in front of the same central eastern portico, to Lincoln at his second inauguration in s865 and to Grant in 1869 and 1873.President Johnson, it seems, did not accompany Grant to the Capitol; it having been decided that they ride in separate carriages, he refused altogether to attend the ceremony.President Hayes was here sworn into office by Chief Justice Waite on March ,a877the 4th coming on Sunday. The same oath had been administered to him by the Chief Justice in the White House on the Saturday preceding at five minutes past five o'clock, to prevent any difficulty in the way of riots which it was feared might occur because of thpolitical bitterness at the final determination of the Electoral Commission against Samuel J. Tilden.Garfield took the oath of office on the east front of the Capitol in 188i, the oath being administered by Chief Justice Waite.Hancock, the unsuccessful candidate, was present in the full umforin of a Major General March 4, x88was a glorious, propitious day The people hopefully exclaimed: "Cleveland's luck!" The President-elect delivered his first The National Capitol 83

inaugural from a platform erected on the east front, after which Chief Justice Waite administered the oath of office on a small, well-worn, morocco-covered, gilt-edged Bible, marked "S. G. Cleveland."It was the gift of the Presi- dent's mother, when a young man he first left home to seek his fortune.The same little Bible was again called into use eight years later, though Chief Justice Fuller then officiated.The day was not the same, however.Snow fell in huge wet flakes.There was a spatter as the wheels of the state carriage turned up Pennsylvania Avenue.It was almost as cold as the day of Grant's second inauguration in 1873. The pedestrians shivered;the horsemen scented pneumonia in the air. On the same spot, in 1889 and I97 respectively, Benjamin Harrison in the face of a driving storm, and %Villiain )lcliiiiley on a day so beautiful that it seemed to herald returning prosperity, received the oath of office, administered by Chief Justice Fuller, in the presence of the people.The arrangements at the inauguration of President McKinley differed from those of his predecessors in that the platform constructed for the ceremony extended southward from the steps upon the east front of the Senate wing, whence only it could be reached.The President-elect delivered his inaugural and took the oath of office upon a small pulpit at the corner of the platform instead of at the center, as had before been customary.This permitted the crowd in the open campus to have a better view of the proceedings, as they could see the inauguration from two directions.Upon the steps of the central eastern portico, another platform, disconnected, formed a reserved gallery from which all was equally well seen. It has been customary during the later administrations for the President's carriage, his escort and a part of the procession, just before noon, to pass up Pennsylvania Avenue to the Peace Monument and thence along North B Street to the top of the hill, where the President and President-elect enter the grounds.The entire procession, both military and civil, is massed here and in the adjacent streets until the completion of the exercises, when the return is made along the same route, the President's carriage and guard of honor being placed in the van in order that he may reach the Executive Mansion first.The state carriage leaves the procession at the Treasury, and passes quickly behind that building.The President reviews the marching troops and citizens from the stand prepared for the occasion in front of the White House lawn. At the last inauguration, the beautiful state carriage, drawn by four black horses, contained on the back seat, as is now customary, the outgoing and the incoming President, Cleveland and McKinley; opposite them sat Mr. Sherman of Ohio and Mr. Mitchell of Wisconsin, who composed the committee appointed by the Senate for that purposeDuring the drive to the Capitol, President Cleveland occupied the seat of honor on the right; 84 The National Capitol returning, after the inauguration, that place became theprerogative of Presi- dent McKinley.During the ride to and from the Capitol, Clevelandwith becoming dignity allowed his silk hat to remain upon hishead, while McKin- ley, with hat in hand, responded to the cheers of thecrowd right and left along the way. Ceiitenn ial and Christian Endeavor Celebrations.Theexercises attending the hundredth anniversary of the laying of the original corner-stone of the Capitol by George Washington, September i8,1793,were held on the

THE CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION east front of the Capitol.Congress adjourned to attend the ceremony in a body.President Cleveland was present, and delivered a few appropriateand well-chosen words of introduction.He was followed by Vice-President Stev- enson, who represented the Senate; by SpeakerCrisp, who spoke on behalf of the House of Representatives ; and by Mr. Justice Brown, whovoiced the sentiments of the Supreme Court of the Tjnited States in a gracefulspeech containing some research.One of the Commissioners responded for the District of Columbia.William Wirt Henry of Virginia, a grandson of Pat- rick Henry, as the orator of the day, delivered the principal address.The programme was interspersed with music by the Marine Band,under the leadership of Professor Fanciulli, and by a grand centennial chorus of 1,500 voices, trained for the occasion. In the evening, the campus formed a brilliantly lighted amphitheaterfor the continuation of the exercises.The programme was largely of a musical character, embracing choral selections.Patriotic sentiment was awakened The National Capitol 85 by Charles B. Hanford, the actor, who recited with feeling and art "The Star Spangled Banner." A tablet was placed by permission of Congress above the original corner-stone in commemoration of the centennial exercises. Thecost of this tablet was defrayed by the committee. On Saturday afternoon, July ii, 1896, at five o'clock,the notes of a more remarkable cho- nis, numbering nearly four thou- sandvoices,arosefromthe campus heavenward.It was the occasion of the greatest assembling of the Christian Endeav- orers during their visit to Wash- ington. The central steps of the Capitol were devoted to the chorus, the ladies forming a sort of parterre in the center, the men ranged on either side. Before thesteps was erected a flag- draped stand for the officers and leaders of the United Society, and back of this, but still within the rope-enclosure, the Marine Band on a raised platform contributed classicstrainsto the fervent ceremony. The throng of people was among the largest and most peaceful yet gathered before Congress House, and the procession at the close of the exercises was truly unique and inspiring.Down Capitol Hill and along Pennsylvania Avenue marched the thousands of enthusiastic En- deavorersmen, women and childrenled by the Marine Band, the officers of the United Society, members of the "Committee of '96" and the wonderful chorus. EASTERN APPROACH

THE parking in the midst of -J which the Lapitol stands now consists of 58 acres.In the old days, there was a fish pond in the center to the east, adorned with the naval monument, which was later removed to the west front.There were then so many primeval trees that it seemed like a forest. The landscape gardener, however, preferring his idea of beauty to Nature's, cut down the grand old monarchs to make room for shrubbeiy and insignificant trees.He might well have reflected upon Lafayette's counsel, wise in peace as in war: "Re- member, my dear,how much -easier it is to cut a tree down than to make one grow."One beautiful beech was preserved. - - It is said that Mr. Sumner interposed and saved it.The storms have not been so kind. The grandeurof the structure itself is fortunately in no waydwarfed by the presence of surrounding buildings. The eye isimpressed with the full beauty of its masses and shadows, which, even more than detail, oftendisplay the genius of architectural creation.While almost purely Greek in design, it has an American individuality that distinguishes it from every otherbuilding on the glole. American history and spirit cling to each Roman archto eachGrecian column, entablature and pediment.From the eastern approach the Capitol seems fancifully like a compact in marble representingthe unity of the States. The building is in three partsthe north wing, the south wing and thecentral structure surmounted by the domeemblematic to patriotic eyesof the three divisions of the federal government, the legislative, executive and judicial. The National Capitol 87

The Decorated Pedisnents.The decoration of the pediment above the central steps on the eastern façade bespeaks attention.The semi-colossal figure in the center represents the "Genius of America."This work is carved in allo-riliezo from Virginia sandstone, and is chiefly interesting from the fact that John Quincy Adams, when President, furnished the design.It was finished just before the meeting of Congress in 1828.In his diary, Adams makes the following entry for June 3oth of that year: "Overtaken by a storm near the Capitol, and took shelter under one of the arches.Found Mr. Persico, the Italian Sculptor, there, and went up to view his work at the pediment, of which I furnished him the design.He is now upon the last figure, Hope; and thus far his execution is very satisfactory.His eagle had been indifferent in the drawing; better, but not good, in the model.In the work itself it is the pouncing bird. He called my attention to the anchor: he had, therefore, gone to Commodore Pingey and taken for his model a true anchor of a ship of war.' And so now,' said he, 'whenever a sailor looks at this pediment he will say, " How exact the anchor is!" 'He said he would paint the scales in the hand of Justice white; they must be painted to prevent them taking the rain, making verdigris, and dropping it upon the stone figures." An extract from a letter written June 22, 1825, by Bulfinch, then the architect of the Capitol, will be interesting to the student:

"Our work at the Capitol proceeds but slowly, owing to delay of contractors in delivering the large blocks for columns. We have received only 4 this season, which are raised into their places, and must have 7 more before the much talked of Pediment can be commenced.With respect to the ornament proposed to decorate this, the artists in general feel very much disappointed ; about 30 persons presented 36 designs, some well and others badly executed, but none answering the President's idea of a suitable decoration for a legislative building.He disclaimed all wish to exhibit triumphal cars and emblems of victory, and all allusions to heathen mythology, and thought that the duties of the Nation or of Legis- lators should be impressed in an obvious and intelligible manner.After several attempts, the following has been agreed upon: a figure of America occupies the centre, her right arm resting on the shield, supported by an alter or pedestal bearing the inscription Jury 4, 1776, her left hand pointing to the figure of Justir, who, with unrvi(ed face, is viewing the scales, and the right hand presenting an open scroll inscribed Constitution, 1farch, 57S9; on the left of the principal figure is the eagle, and a figure of IIcpe resting on her anchor. with face and right hand up-lifted,the whole intended to convey that while we cultivate Justic' we may hope for :uccss.The figures are bold, offeet in height, and gracefully drawn by Mt. Persico, an Italian artist.It is intended that an appropriate inscription shall explain the meaning and moral to dull coinprehensions." The 'ost of this work to the government, though the design of the Presi- dent should have been, and undoubtedly was, gratuitous, was $15,000.Soon after its completion, a part of the arm of the figure of Justice, together with the Constitution, fell from the action of frost to the steps of the portico, and was shattered into fragments. The National Capitol

An effective piece of work, designed by Crawford, representing the progress of American civilization and the decadence of the Indian race, adorns the pediment of the eastern portico of the Senate wing.In the center stands America.On her right are the soldier, merchant, youths, schoolmaster, pupil and mechanic, with the anchor and wheat sheaf as emblems of stability and prosperity.On her left, the march of Western civilization is further typified by the pioneerwhom curiously enough the sculptor has represented as chop- ping left-handed; and by the hunter, the Indian brave, the Indian mother and child, and, as the last sad chapter in the story, the Indian grave. The pediment was completed in1862. The statues, which were executed in the shops of the extensions, of marble from Lee, Massachusetts, are fastened with heavy copper clamps.The figure of America for several years stood upon a pedestal in the park; the companion pieces upon a platform in Statuary Hall.Crawford received for the models, and for those of Justice and History above the bronze doors of the Senate wing,S2o,00o.Thomas Gagliardi received $5,500 for chiseling the wheat sheaf, anchor, group of instruction and youths.He was assisted by Casoni in cutting the figure of America and the Indian family, for which they jointly received£7,000.Another Italian, G. Casprero, was paid Loo for executing the Indian grave.The figures of the soldier, merchant, woodrnan, Indian chief and hunter all were cut by G. Butti, for which he was paid$22,350.D. Giampaoli chiseled for$2,900 the figure of the mechanic. It was intended to place in the corresponding tympanum above the east portico of the House of Representatives a similar group, indicative of Ameri- can life and history, but this has never been carried out. Groups and Statues on the Central Portico.The two marble groups upon the blockings over the porte-cochère of the central building attract The National Capitol 89

considerable attention because of their prominence.The one to the north is by Greenough, and is popularly called "The Rescue."It was designed in 1837 and completed in 185i.The story is that of a frontiersman saving his wife and child from massacre at the hands of an indian brave.On the corresponding blocking to the south is a group by Persico (1844), known as "The Discovery."The central figureis that of Columbus, triumphantly holding aloft in his hand a ball representing the globe.By his side cowers an Indian girl, awed at the sight of the white man.It is said that the artist copied the armor from that still preserved in Genoa, Italyone of the many authentic suits which Columbus wore when he discovered America. These groups were the outcome of a joint resolution of March 4, i87, by which the President was authorized to contract for two groups of statuary to be placed upon these blockings. Eight thousand dollars were appropri. ated for the work; but, as usual, the final cost far exceeded the intention, the expense to the government being nearly $56,000 in all. Persico received the first order.The contract for the second group was made with Greenough while he was at work in Florence upon his statue of Wash- ington, and while wonderful reports of its excellence were being brought to America by his friends.It also was urged on his behalf that a native THE RESCUE sculptor should have a commission GrecwugA tor one of the groups in order that American and foreign art might be well contrasted at the Capitol.It is fortunate that no country need rely on either production to establish its artistic excellence. The two marble figures in the niches at the back of this portico, to the right and left of Rogers' bronze doors, command critical admiration for grace and dignity of pose, strength in modeling, and appropriateness of design. These statues are of Mars and Ceres, the man in Roman mail with shield and swordemblems of war; and the woman bearing the fruitful olive branch personification of peace.They were authorized by the appropriation bill of March 3, 1829, which contained a clause "toenable the President 90 The National Capitol

to contract with Luigi Persico to execute two statues for the east front of the Capitol."The conclusion of this contract with the Italian scuiptoT was the last official act of John Quincy Adams as President of the United States. Each statue cost the government $12,000.They must have been placed in their present positions since 1835, as not till then was an appropriation made by Congress for the niches in which they stand. On the wall of the central portico above the bronze doors is a work by Capellano (1827). It represents the head and shoulders of Washington, with two angelicfiguresin the act of crowninghisbrow withtri- umphal wreaths. Rogers' Bronze Doors. The beautiful bronze doors at the eastern entrance to the rotunda are popularly called" The Columbus Doors" because they represent scenes in the life of that great admiral.They were designed and modeled in Rome in rS8 by Randolph Rogers, a young American of whom his countrymen should feel proud, and cast by F. von Miller, a German, in Munich inzS6o. THE DISCOVERY The two leaves, each composed Per, ice of four panelswith transom, frame and trimmings alsoin bronzewere cast in sections.The doors were first placed in the arch leading from Statuary Hall to the south extension, in November, 2863.They were soon removed, however, to their present position. The lowest panel upon the left represents Columbus before the Council of Salamanca, where he was denied assistance and his theories ridiculed by the wise men of the court.Discouraged, he sought the Convent of La Rabida, at the hands of whose worthy prior, Juan Perez, he had before found sympathy and aid.The next panel represents the navigator setting forth for the court of Spain, where, finally, through a letter to the queen from Perez, her one- time confessor, the interview with Ferdinand and Isabella set forth in the third panel was secured.The upper panel shows the departure of Columbus from Palos on his first voyage of discovery, Friday, August 3, 2492. ROGERS' BRONZE DOORS The National Capitol 93

The large transom surmounting the doors represents the landing of the Spaniards in the New World, Friday, October 12th, upon the island of Guanahani, of which Columbus took possession in the name of Ferdinand and Isabella, and which he christened San Salvador in honor of the Savior. The upper panel upon the right portrays the re-embarkation of Columbus for home, taking with him several natives as a proof of his discovery.The one next below shows the triumphal entry of the great navigator, upon his return to Spain, into Barcelona, where the sovereigns and the court were eager to welcome the successful explorer most royally. Then follows the recall and arrest of Columbus, the humiliating termination of his thirdvoyage of discovery, upon groundless charges preferred by Bobadilla, a degradation which was in some part lightened by the fact that the chains were ordered frnm his wrists through the intercession of his friend, Queen Isabella.The lowest panel to the right tells the sad story of the death of the aged discoverer, then in his seventy-third year, at Valladolid, Ifl 1506. The sixteen small statuettes in the niches on the right and left of the panels represent friends of Columbus, and explorers,conquerors and sovereigns connected with the discovery and settlement of the New World.They are Alexander VI. of Rome, Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, Charles VIII. of France, John II. of Portugal, Henry VII. of England, Mendoza, Lady B. d'Bobadilla, Perez, Pinzon, captain of the PYntz, Bartholomew Columbus, Ojeda, Vespucci, Cortez, Balboa and Pizarro.Above and below the panels are the heads of Irving, Prescott and other historians.The four figures at the corners of the frame are emblematic of the four continentsAsia and Europe on the left, Africa and America on the right.The head of Columbus, delicately worked, crowns the arch of the door. The sculptor evidently drew his inspiration for these doors from the bronze doors of Ghiberti at the gates of the Baptistery in Florence, which they resemble in all but theme; and though the world-renowned Italian gates are generally conceded to be the best example of their class of art, the Columbus doors compare favorably with them, and command universal admiration, not only for the conception and arrangement Of the story told, but for fineness of detail, good modeling and a general effect of strength and beauty combined. The doors are iS feet in height andfeet in width; and weigh 20,00C' pounds.They have cost the government $28,5oo, of which Rogers received $8,000 for the model, and Von Miller $17,000. THE ROTUNDA

THE walls of the rotunda, or interior of the dome, are divided into twelve panels by lofty classic pilasters or Grecian ante.Isthmian wreaths ornament the entablature thus supported.The upper section of the interior, which is rendered effective in finish by innumerable caissons or sunken panels, is crowned by a bowl-shaped roof or canopy.Beneath this frescoed ceiling runs a circular landing, from which, as well as from the winding stairs where they pass in the ascension the belt of windows which circle the dome above the frieze and give it light, it is possible to look down upon the rotunda. Across the space, though measuring 65 feet, whispers can be distinctly heard the voice seeming to come from above and behind the listener. The decorations of the rotunda are a fair example of the art of the Capi- tol.While much of this is individually fine, it everywhere presents a patchwork appearance, the more meritorious pictures in many instances suffering severely by association with the merest daubs.There is a want ofthat harmony necessary to produce an artistic effect commensurate with such an imposing interior.This is due, in part, to material changes in the styles of decoration during the growth of the building, and, in part, to the fact that some of the artists have been selected as well as hampered by "a little brief authority" or by Congressional legislation. Let but some method other than favoritism and political influence be devised for the selection of art and artists, and the walls of the National Capitol will become, as they long ago should have been, a marvel of beauty throughout.One attempt has been made in this direction.It was during the erection of the marble wings which brought a wild desire for decoration, stimulated, no doubt, by diplomatic efforts of certain foreign artists at Wash- ington.They secured most of the contracts; and the feelings of their Ameri can brethren, especiolly of the more incompetent ones, naturally were bitter. This led to a memorial to Congress and to the provision in the acts of June 12, i858, and March 3, 1859, that none of the money thereby appropriated for the extensions should be expended in decoration or embellishment by sculpture or painting unless such works of art had been examined and accepted by distinguished artists, three in number, to be selected by the President. This commission sat in Washington.The spirit of its members, however, seemed to defeat its object.It devoted itself rather to the detraction of existing art and of the artists then at work than to the consideration of proper The National Capitol 95 means for the attainnient of harmonious and good results in the future.Its criticism of the imported masters, however, was not without some degree of justice, as is evinced by much of their work itself.There is no doubt that American artists of attainment are better able to portray on canvas and in marble the history, spirit and individuality of their own country than any of foreign birth.In this vein, it is interesting to note that the sons of the eminent American artist, Benjamin West, whose genius first commanded respect in Europe for his country's art, in1826* offered to Congress in vain one hundred and fifty of their father's paintings, though the worst abortions have again and again received from it the highest compensation. There is truth as well as humor in Mark Twain's reflections: "So you observe, that you take your view from the back of the capitol.And yet not from the airy outlooks of the dome, by the way, because to get there you must pass through the great rotunda: and to do that, you would have to see the marvelous Historical Paintings that hang there, and the bas-reliefsand what have you done that you should suffer thus ?And besides, you might have to pass through the old part of the building, and you could not help seeing Mr. Lincoln, as petrified by a young lady artist for $io,000----and you might take his marble emancipation proclamation which he holds out in his hand and contemplates, for a folded napkin; and you might conceive from his expression and his attitude, that he is finding fault with the washing. Which is not the case.Nobody knows what is the matter with him; but everybody feels for him.Well, you ought not to go into the dome anyhow, because it would be utterly impossible to go up there without seeing the frescoes in itand why should you be interested in the delirium tremens of art ?" Bruinidi.The story of the Capitol cannot be written without the name Constantino Brumidi.fAbout his life romance clings.Even in childhood the gods favored his hand with fine artistic cunning.His father was a Greek, his mother an Italian.He learned the art of fresco, which is now in its higher development almost a forgotten art, in Rome, where he was a student of painting and architecture at the Accademia di Sin Luca.His work in sculpture under the direction of Canova attracted the attention of Thorwaidsen. Brumidiwas a captain of the Papal Guards during the revolutionary times in Rome just before Rossi was assassinated, Pius IX.an exiledeprived of his temporal power, and Garibaldi and the people triumphant.Refusing to execute commands to turn the guns of his company upon the oppressed, Brumidi's house was surrounded by soldiers in the dead of night, and he himself arbitrarily arrested and thrown into prison, where he lay for thirteen

* See Appendix, p. 259. f For facts concerning Brumidi's career, the author is indebted to his son, Brumidi, himself an artist. 96 The National Capitol

months.He was released at the intervention of the Pope, whose friendship he had won by the clever execution of two paintings of his eminence, upon condition that he immediately leave Italy.Brumidi first landed in New York, but finding that city less desirous of art than it is to-day, departed for Mexico in the hope of richer patronage.He returned after three years, and came to Washington, which he had previously visited, to enter upon his life-work at the Capitol. Freseo.The art of fresco, which has long flourished in Italy, was known and practiced by the Egyptians, Greeks and Ronians.The Germans, French and northern nations had no knowledge of the art.The French, in their mural decorations, paint in oils directly upon the wall, or in their studios at leisure upon canvas, which they afterwards press upon the wall, coated with white lead, until the picture sets and becomes firm.This was the process used in most instances in the decoration of the new building for the Congres- sional Library.Fresco is the Italian word forfres/i; the process is so called because the plaster is wet or fresh when the colors are applied.The wall or ceiling, before the decoration, resembles the first coat of plaster ordinarily given to a room.The colors are liquefied with water, and so naturally sink into the prepared background and become a part of iLAs the wet plaster is much darker than the dry, itis very difficult so to apply the colors, which change materially in drying, that the tone is preserved harmonious throughout.It requires long experience and artistic judgment.Then, too, the pallet is meager.Mineral or earth colors only can be used, as the lime in the plaster, which is used for white, eats and destroys all other paints.No lakes, no vermilions, no carmines, as in oils, are at the artist's hand; he must produce his flesh tints by clever combinations with light and Indian reds. Brumidi's flesh tints are therefore worthy of study. The Canopy .The canopy which forms the ceiling of the rotunda was finished by Brumidi in1865. This conception of the artist, because of its great height from the observer, was drawn in heroic proportions.It represents the beatification of the spirit of George Washington, who is seated in the center. On his right sits Freedom and on his left Victory; while grouped about are thirteen female figures emblematic of the thirteen original States.On the banneret stretchi ng across the picture are the words "E Pluribus Unum." Around the base of the canopy are groups suggestive of the spirit of revolution and its resulting progress, as beheld in the history of the young Repub- licarmed Liberty with shield and sword conquering Royalty, the armored soldier in vain endeavoring to uphold the ermine at which the eagle with out- stretched wings strikes with beak and claws; Minerva, the Goddess of Arts and Sciences; Ceres, of the Harvest; Mercury, the Messenger of the Gods, representing Eloquence and Commerce; Vulcan, the God of Mechanics; and Neptune, with his trident, the God of the Marine. The National Capitol 97

Just before his death, Brumidi was criticised, especially in the papers of the South, for an alleged caricature of the leaders of the Confederacy. Though the artist always denied the accusationitis interesting to observe the resemblance of the figures to the right of armed Liberty to Jefferson Davis and Alexander H. Stephens, the President and Vice-President of the Confed- eracy, and of the two figures to the left to General Robert E. Lee and John B. Floyd, the Secretary of War under Buchanan.The scene itself is certainly

THE CANOPY suggestive of the stamping out of the Rebellion: athunder-bolt, representing the wrath of the Gods, is being hurled from on high atStephens; while the President of the Confederacy, with a lighted torch, isfleeing from the wrath of the colossal figure of armed Liberty above.But it is not possible that Brumidi intended these as portraits; for he was thefriend of most of the Confederate leaders, and probably the last to see JeffersonDavis before he left the capital for the South.%Vhen the artist first came to Washington to reside, the government was in the hands of the menwho afterwards led in the 98 The National Capitol

Confederacy.He became intimate with them, and found them more congenial than many of Northern birth; for their temperaments were warm and Italian like his own.Nor, on the other hand, can he be justly accused of dis- loyalty to the Union; for he left Italy because of his republicanism, as his father before him fled from Greece for the like good cause, and it is not possible that a spirit so imbued would uphold slavery in its adopted country. In the group of Arts and Sciences are clearly portrayed by the artist's intention the features of Franklin, Fulton and Morse, that trio who, more than any other, has annihilated space and conquered time.The face of Vu!- can in the group representing Mechanics is thought by many strongly to suggest T. U. Walter, the architect of the marble extensions and the new dome, though he strenuously objected to the commemoration of his features, by his artist-friend on the ceiling of the rotunda.Two figures in the group of Corn- merce are thought to be those of Robert Morris, the great financier of the Revolution, who spent his last days in a debtor's cell, and of Alexander Hamilton, the organizer of the Treasury Department of the United States. The statement that the fair faces of the maidens depicted in this fresco are likenesses of the sweethearts of the artist at various periods of his romantic career, cannot be authenticated, and probably the suggestion has arisen from the fact that Brumidi used many attractive models in drawing his designs. The groundwork upon which this fresco is executed is of copper covered with plaster.The canopy is like a huge bowl in appearance, 6feet in diameter, with a concavity of nearly 21 feet; and the distance from its center to the center of the floor of the rotunda is i8o feet inches.The artist's contract price was39,5oo.It is almost the only piece of work which Brumidi performed in the Capitol for which he received other than a per diem compensation of ten dollars. The Frieze.About 75 feet from the floor, the walls of the rotunda are belted by a frieze, which, at the first glance, gives the impression of a/b- riliezo.It is, however, a fresco, the work of two foreign-born artists, Bru- midi and Costaggini, and represents scenes in the history of the New World from the time of its discovery. Following the landing of Columbus in 5492, are: the entry of Cortez into the Halls of the Montezumasfl 1521 ; Pizarro's conquest of Peru in 5533; the midnight burial of De Soto in the Mississippi in 1541; Pocahontas saving the life of Captain John Smith in x6o6; the landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1620; and Penn's treaty of peace with the Indians in 1682 Brumidi was taken ill in x88o, shortly after finishing the figure of William Penn, and died Februasy 4th, quite advanced in years, presumably from the effect of the shock produced by a partial fall from the scaffolding upon which he workedThe watchman lust below the canopy, who was accustomed to The National Capitol 99 follow with his eyes the progress of the artist, saw him fall, and running down the long flights of steps, succeeded in rescuing the old gentleman as he clung nearly exhausted to the ladder, or he would have fallen and been dashed to pieces on the floor beneath.The chair upon which he sat in order to paint had been pushed backward on the small platform, and as his assistant was absent, there was no one on the scaffolding to rescue him. Upon Brumidi's death, Filippo Costaggini was engaged to complete the frieze. The late artist's designs were promptly appropriated without remuner- ation to his family for the thought and labor which they contained.The first figure which Costaggini painted is easily distinguished as the one to the right of William Penn.The first entire group executed by the newly engaged artist represents a scene in Plymouth Colony, in December, i6ao, thus described by Governor Bradford in the "Log" of the Jfayflower: "And afterwards took better view of the place, and resolved where to pitch their dwelling; and the 25th day began to erect the first house, for common use, to receive them and their goods." Following this in order are: the trety of peace between Governor Ogle- thorpe of Georgia and the Indians in 1732; the battle of Lexington in r'; the reading of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, which, as John Adams writes on July 9th, " was yesterday published and proclaimed from that awful stage in the State-house yard; by whom do you think?By the Committee of Safety, the Committee of Inspection, and a great crowd of people"; the surrender of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown in 178x ;the death of Tecumseh, who is said to have been killed by Colonel Richard Johnson, at the battle of the Thames in 1813, the only Vice-President elected by the Senate instead of by the electoral college; General Scott's entry into the city of Mexico in 1847; and the discovery of gold in California in 1848. Since May, 1889, work upon the frieze has been suspended, principally because no subjects have been determined upon for the final gioups.All of Brumidi's designs have been executed.It was his intention to have but one more picture in the belt.Costaggini, however, in placing the designs of his predecessor in the frieze, has crowded them to make room for two sketches by himself.He proposes the junction in May, 1869, of the Union and Central Pacific Railroads at Promontory Point. Utah, with Leland Stanford driving the golden spike which bound the iron girders connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans; and the opening of the World's Fair, with President Cleveland touching the button which set its wheels in motion. Whether it is that Congress has had too much annoyance over the Pacific roads to place a constant reminder upon the walls of the rotunda, we know not; but when on Junei, 1896, Mr. Hansbroughreported to the Senate a joint resolution, without amendment," For completing the painting ofthe frieze in the Rotunda of the United States Capitol by Filippo Costaggini,after designs 100 The National Capitol to be furnished by him and approved by the Joint Committee onthe Library, six thousand dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary," Mr. Hawley said: "I am not quite satisfied with the manner in which the frieze is being finished or conducted.I make no especial criticism upon the President of the United States for various reasons, and he might find his place upon it, but I am not quite satisfied with an attempt to approve a history of the United States, which the frieze is supposed to suggest, that omits George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, and presents Mr. Cleveland, when we consider the respective positions of Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Cleveland during the great war of the rebellion."In replying to the Connecticut Senator and in support of his report, Mr. Hansbrough said: " I have here two sketches which it is proposed to use in completing the fresco work.The one that the Senator from Connecticut objects to, or believes he objects to, represents President Cleve- land pressing the electric button which notified the world that the World's Fair was open.It also represents in the background the Duke of Veragua and his family, the remnants of the Columbus family, and all there is left of it.It will be remembered that the first painting in the frieze of the Dome is a fresco representing Columbus landing in America.The last one will be a fresco representing the opening of the World's Fair, attended by the only living dscendants of the Columbus family.The Committee think it a very appropriate sketch." To this Mr. Hawley replied: "I wonder how a man giving the history of the United States could entirely skip the great war of the Union.If you ask how I would put it upon the frieze, if I did nothing else I would represent the apple tree at Appomattox and Grant and Lee shaking hands, with surrounding touches and intimations of troops and various designs.I do not object to the Senator's idea of giving a hint of the great exhibition at Chicago, but I object to the utter absence of the greatest historical event since the War of the Revolutionone of the greatest in all history."The resolution passed the Senate. Representative Boutelle, on the 6th of the same month, introduced into the House a joint resolution which called for some suitable design which should "symbolize the great events in the national life since the close of the Mexi- can war, and appropriately commemorate the preservation of the. Unionand the establishment of universal freedom by heroic valor and sacrifice of the citizens of the Republic under the leadership of Abraham Lincoln." This is as far as the matter has gone.The Brumidi scaffolding still hangs, as it has hung for years, like a huge, ungainly spider, to the walls of the rotunda. In order to appreciate the merits of Brumidi's figures, we have but to compare his work in the frieze-belt with that of the artist employed to corn- plete it, bearing in mind the words placed in the mouth of Michael Angelo by the poet LngfeIlow: The National Capitol I0I

I have often said That I account that painting as the best Which most resembles sculpture.Here before us We have the proof.Behold these rounded limbs How from the canvas they detach themselves, Till they deceive the eye, and one would say, It is a statue with a screen behind it I" The first show a delightful warmth and gradation of tone.The background is darker, and sets Out the figures in bolder relief.This Brumidi intended to make harmonious throughout upon the completion of the belt.The figures of Costaggini are cold and hard, and in some instances produce the grotesque effect of having been flattened out of drawing.

The superiority of the elder artist is more noticeable in the first three groups.Toward the close of his life, his physical powers were inadequate to the difficulties of painting in such a necessarily constrained position, unas- sisted by sufficient moving of the scaffolding.Brumidi's art, however, here as elsewhere, is not always of thebest.His painting is very uneven; much cf it extremely fine, some of it execrable.No higher compliment, however, could be paid to his genius than the expression of a groupof artists, who were decorating the new buildingfor the Congressional Library, overheard when they visited the Capitol to study the frescoes of theItalian: "We have nothing equal to this in the Library.There is no one who can do such work to-thy." The Trumbull Paintings.The four historical paintingswhich adorn the larger panels on the western walls of the rotunda arethe work of John Trumbull, a son of Jonathan Trumbull, Revolutionary Governorof Connecti- cut.They represent vital scenes connected with the War forIndependence, 102 The National Capitol

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RU1LSOGE -DC. 46 THOMAS MCs(AN Pa, IT PSIUP lIVINGSTON NV in which the artist himself participated.Trumbull rose to the position of aide-de-camp to General Washington by reason of his skilful execution of drawings showing the enemy's works, and, later, was assigned to the command of Gates as acting Adjutant-General, with the rank of colonel.In the peaceful arts, he was the pupil of Benjamin West, whose influence in style ishere seen. Taking offense at the action of Congress regarding the date of his commission, the young soldier resigned from the army in and sailed for Europe to prosecute his more congenial studies.While in London, at the time of the Major André affair, he was unfortunately arrested as an American spy, and imprisoned for seven months; but, principallythrough the inter- position of West, who was the painter in ordinary, the King, George III., promised that, in any event, the artist's head should be spared, and, finally, through the efforts of Fox, Burke and others, ordered his release upon condition that he leave England in thirty days.The terms were gladly acceded to; West and Copley became his sureties; and Trumbull shortly again took up his residence in his native land, where he devoted himself assiduously to the painting of life portraitsamong which were several of Washingtonfor proposed historical pictures.Upon the restoration of peace, Trumbull made L)ECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE The National Capitol 505 other trips to Europe, of which he took advantage to further prosecute his studies and extend his collection. In1817,after spending nearly two years in trying to awaken the sympathies of his government in behalf of American art, Trumbull secured from Congress a resolution, approved February 6th, authorizing thePresident to employ him to execute four paintings commemorative of the most important eventsof the American Revolution, to be placed, when finished, in the Capitol.This was effected through the influence of the artist's many friends and the interest awakened by the studies which he exhibited for some time in the Hall of Representatives.A spirited debate, which is reported as having been" interesting, amusing and instructive," occurred at the third reading upon the question of the passage of the resolution.It was advocated by Calhoun, John Randolph of Roanoke, Grosvenor, Harrison and others, and passed in spite of the opposition of Ross, Forsyth, Hardin and Robertson, who, while they generally recognized the talents of theartist, urged economy, and were narrowly adverse to the government becoming a patron of the fine arts. As the choice of subjects was left to the Executive, the artist immediately waited upon President Madison.Trumbull proposed making the pictures six feet high by nine feet long, but the President objected." Consider, sir," said he, " the vast size of the apartment in which these works are to be placedthe rotunda, one hundred feet in diameter, and the same in height paintings of the size which you propose, will be lost in such a space; they. must be of dimensions to admit the figures to be the size of life." The contract for the paintings was formally executed on March 15th by Richard Rush, acting Secretary of State; and Trumbull immediately set to work upon the canvases.The artist received$8,000in advance, which was evidently very welcome; for, with the usual fatality of a man of genius, he admits that he had been "constantly drifting upon the fatal lee-shore of debt, and of necessity was driven to continue the wretched resource of borrowing the means of subsistence." Trumbull was unusually well fitted for his task by reason of his actual knowledge of the war and his personal acquaintance with the builders of the nation.The$32,000which he received from Congress in payment for the four pictures was only a reasonable compensation for the time occupiedand the cleverness displayed in the studies and finished works.For their historical value, if for naught else, the paintings are worthy of theplace they occupy. The individual portraits are valuable as replicas of life portraits contained in the small original pictures now in the Trumbull collection at Yale University.Washington, writing to Lafayette in 1791, says of Trum- bull's work: " He has spared no pains in obtaining from the life, thelikenesses cf those characters, French as well as American, who bore a conspicuous part in our Revolution; and the success with which his efforts havebeen crowned ioó The National Capitol

i1DIE1 (DIF EflAU. 'Y1flE I - 7_A'%tsaxaxoga. N.Y October j7 1777

- tlUCOw 1k,,. Co1o.I CI LLY NH. 3. STARR N#1.A. Cq S'IM0UR COR,f 3. K UULL Ne.., 6 C,to,1 CREATON St.,7, M. OEARRO#NC N H 8 C,I,,I SCAMMELI. N Si, 9 COI,,I.EWIS U,,Z N H C.,,.,.1 PIIIWES ,A. U Ls &,,,,,1 BURCOVNE E#. 12. 8.,.I RIEOESiL. 13Ctho,,1WILIIIIISON D,.4,-4d,.d1 16 GRi GATES. 1 Co1o.4 PRESCOTT .V.. IAj.,,, 18 ColoR1IIIORG#FI 17 C,,.,.) RUFUS PUTNAM M.A 38 c,1o,,1JOI7N BROOSIS C,,....,.- ,f 79 R. M ,,ITCHCOCII (2RA RI 23 18#., #08 TROUP .844. 2-.p NT 21. MNOr 77ASBFII.21H.,.,, URS'RONC 21 M.o. C.., PH SCHUFLER .4Sb,. 2 G.,r,.1 CLOSER S...2$ B,.4.., 0 AUPULE NHMth..... 26 M.9.1 CLURI7SON .64 i. C NY 27 M.,, EBENEZ(R STETLFS M...I3.. .4.,A,4..dZ,,. willform no small part ofthe value of his pieces."The sameness of expression in the various faces, so often noted, is due as much to the fact that the style of the period was to appear with the face smoothly shaven as to a want of individuality expressed by the painter.The Duke de Lauzun is noticeable as the only one in the four pictures wearing even a moustache. Many of the figures are stiff and unnatural, and the perspective is not always of the best.The grouping, however, is good, aud while the pictures do not in color, drawing, imagination or vitality approach the excellence reached by Meissonier, Detaille, Sargent, Dagnan-Bouveret and other modern soldier and portrait painters, they compare favorably with the art of their own period and are creditable to the purposes of the artist. The Signing of the Declaration of Independence is the most generally admired, as it is the most natural in tone and finish; after it, the Resignation of Washington.Perhaps the superiority of these interior scenes is somewhat attributable to the artist's apparent want of skill in landscape painting, evinced by the backgrounds in the companion pictures.John Quincy Adams, in his diary of September i, iSiS, written in New York, gives an interesting reflection in disparagement of the picture which is now best liked: "Called NAO!flhu1c1 1VHN1OIOlqMfl1W1S The National Capitol 109 about eleven o'clock at Mr. Trumbull's house, and saw his picture of the Declaration of Independence, which is now nearly finished.I cannot say I was disappointed in the execution of it, because myexpectations were very low; but the picture is immeasurably below the dignity of the subject.It may be said of Trumbull's talent as the Spaniards say of heroes who were brave on a certain day: he has painted good pictures.I think the old small picture far superior to this large new one.He himself thinks otherwise.He has some books on the President's table which the Abbé Correa advised him to letter on the backs, Locke and Sidney.I told him I thought that was not the place for that.They were books for the members to read at home, but not to take with them there.I advised him to letter them simply 'Journals.'" Upon the completion of all the paintings, they were hung in their present positions, two of them by the President's permission having been previously exhibited in other cities, where they are said to have met with general praise. The Declaration of Independence was first temporarily hung in the room of the north wing, then used for the sittings of the Supreme Court.That portion of the old Capitol had been first rebuilt and was believed to be dry; but it proved far otherwise.When the paintings were hung, John Randolph, who had supported and voted for the Trumbull resolution, maliciously criticised them in debate, in opposition to the New England members, who, in the finished work, found praise for the artist.His bitterness, however, can be accounted for upon no other hypothesis than that Congressmen, like the ladies, have the privilege of changing their minds. "When, in 1824, I went to Washington," writes Trumbull," to place all the paintings in their ultimate destination, I fosnd the grand room finished indeed, but so very damp that I felt great reluctance in placing them there, and insisted most strenuously upon having the great opening in the centre of the room, which had been left for the purpose of lighting the crypt, closed; for, as the arches behind and under the porticos were closed only by iron grilles, the external air was freely admitted into the crypt, in all varieties of weather, as well by night as by day, and thence, by means of this unfortunate and ill judged opening, distributed through the great room, to every part of the principal floor of the building, rendering the atmosphere of all of the apartments equally damp and cold as the weather in the open square.My remon- strances, however, were all in vain; and in this situation the four paintings were placed and remained until, in i8a8, the change ontheir surfaces became obvious and conspicuous to all who saw them, and occasioned the resolution of the house of representatives alluded to in the following report,* which I addressed to the speaker of the house on the 9th of December, r8a8." To guard against future injury, the paintings under the artist s direction

* See Appendix, p.257. The National Capitol

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14 OEU8ONTS C12f F,.,16 3. DJ48 LAVAL MO9TUORCNCY 4fF,8f14JNf S C5 Cu STI NE f 4. D14 44 L4 U SU 8 1414,1,1,f F,-,,h 5 04rJ CIIOIZY 6 co VIOMENIL, 7 M.qIII 48 1' SI14ON. 8. CN.1 FERSENA144,r 4I 14IAIld 14,441.' 9 COU CHARLES 09965.414d14.p,f 10. CHASTELLUS. 11. BrO18 VIORENIL. 12 Co5 4. BARRA548,.L 18.Co14 d. GRRSSE ..,7,1. 14 COIAI ROCRAMREAU 06,14.841 AI' 14a Z'j IS C..611 LINCOLN14 C4o,,1 E STE6LNSt 17 C6N,J W8SHINCTON C4,L14s' 34 890w. NElSON .,114.39 Mq .A ,'AYErI(. 20 Bou STEUBEN21.Col,CORB .114 .3CIU'Ip 84 22 E41eI SPUMBuLI. 54844A1 138 53 )4ajoGeneral JAMES CU NTON N.Y.2¼. Gae,'aI GIST. Mt 25 G ANTCOa1 wRVNt P. 28. CO,SMraI #890 P, A4j.44nr 0en,n1 570,18.681 PECR MUHL(NRERG EMI 28 MorUen HENRY 6408 Orar.. f.4rallnv, 29 L4eae ColE IIUNTI6IOTO,. 4rrs#q 44 41. 0o,A rf 128LL4,42'6, 30 coI,oa TIROT1I# R C81#IN C Q.'#- IL'oZ 71- E010841 ALES HAMILTON 13,414I844 OIAV1 1.8411347. 12 Cr1 1089 L8IJRENS SC 33 colInri WAETR STUART E511. 34.colQN6l NICHOlAS11518 5.5'. were removed to dry rooms and the backs of the canvases coated with melted beeswax and oil of turpentine.The niches in the solid walls were plastered with hydraulic cement.At the same time, curtains were hung which could be drawn over the pictures when the rotunda was swept, and self-closing baize doors erected to keep out the cold air. Strange to say, the light from above, which the artist fought to obtain by the construction of the old dome, and which is similar in the new one, is so diffused that, aided by thousands of shadows and reflections and by the peculiar colors used in the paintings, it has preserved the Trumbull pictures seventy-three years uncopied save by pencil.Even the vignettes used by the government in the adornment of certain monetary issues are engraved from sketches.J. K. Hillers, the photographer of the Geological Survey, and one of the party who, with Major Powell, first explored the Grand Cañon of the Colorado, secured them, and the other paintings in the rotunda, for this vol- ume in July, 1897, by a secret process. Declaration of Independence.Franklin, Jefferson, Adams, Living- ston and Sherman, the committee appointed to draft the Declaration of mdc- pendence, reported it to the Continental Congress as Jefferson had writte' it. SURRENDER OF LORD CORNWALLfS The National Capitol 113

It was adopted, after a few amendments, on July 4, 1776, by the vote of every Colony, though not engrossed and signed until the 2d of August.The picture recalls the words of John Adams: " I am well aware of the toil, and blood, and treasure that it will cost us to maintain this Declaration, and support and defend these States.Yet, through all this gloom, I can see the rays of rav- ishing light and glory."John Hancock, the President, sits at the table, and before him stand the committee.The artist found it more effective to represent the whole committee advancing to make their report than tohave the chairman only, as is the custom, arise for the purpose. "The room," writes Trumbull, "is copied from that in which Congress held their sessions at the time, such as it was before the spirit ofinnovation laid unhallowed hands upon it, and violated its venerable walls bymodern improvement, as it is called." The costumes are those of the period.By Adams' and Jefferson's advice the signatures on the originalinstrument, which is preserved in the library of the Department of State, were used as a guide to those who were present. The painting was planned at Jefferson's home in Paris, where theartist had the assistance of the Minister's information and advice; and there,in the autumn of 1787, he " painted the portrait of Mr. Jefferson in theoriginal small Declaration of Independence."Hancock and Samuel Adams were painted in Boston, and Edward Rutledge in Charleston, S. C.Trumbull writes from London: "I resumed my labors, however, and went onwith my studies of other subjects of the history of the Revolution, arrangedcarefully the composition for the Declaration of Independence, andprepared it for receiving the portraits, as I might meet with the distinguished men,who were present at that illustrious scene.In the course of the summer of 1787, Mr. Adams took leave of the court of St. James, and preparatory tothe voyage to America, had the powder combed out of hishair.Its color and natural curl were beautiful, and I took that opportunity to paint hisportrait in the small Declaration of Independence." Surrender of General urgoyne.Fol lowing the brilliant charge of Arnold on October 7, 1777, Burgoyne fell back upon Saratoga.Here the British were surrounded upon all sides; and on ther7th, the entire army of nearly 6,000 men, though allowed to march out oftheir camp with all the honors of war, were compelled to lay down their armsand leave their artillery."General Burgoyne," writes Wilkinson in his Mvizoirs," proposed to be introduced to General Gates, and we crossed theFishkill, and proceeded to headquarters on horseback.General Gates, advised of Burgoyne's approach, met him at the head of his camp.Burgoyne, in a rich royal uniform, and Gates, in a plain blue frock.When they approached nearly within sword's length, they reined up and halted.I then named the gentlemen, and General Burgoyne, raising his hat most gracefully, said, 'Thefortune of war, 8 "4 The National Capitol

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General Gates, has made me your prisoner' ;to which the conqueror, returning a courtly salute, promptly replied, 'I shall always be ready tobear testimony, that it has not been through any fault of yourexcellency.' "The painting," says Trumbull, "represents General Burgoyne,attended by General Phillips, and followed by other officers, arriving near themarquee of General Gates.General Gates has advanced a few steps from the entrance, to meet his prisoner, who, with General Phillips, hasdismounted, and is in the act of offering his sword, which General Gates declines toreceive, and invites them to enter." Surrender of Lord Cornwallis.-The surrender of LordCornwallis on October iç, 578!, was the virtual end of the Revolution.His troops, numbering about 7,073, became" prisoners of war to Congress,and the naval force to France."The army was not permitted to march out with colors flying; for a like honor had been refused to General Lincolnwhen he was forced to give up Charleston.Washington still further honored that officer by directing him to receive the surrender of the royal army.Dr. Thacher, in his Mi./ita,yJournil, gives the following word-picture ofthe ceremony: "At about twelve o'clock the combined army was drawn up into two lines more than a mile ir length, the Americans on the right side of theroad, the French on their left.Washington, mounted on a noble steed, and attended byhis QENERAI WASHINGTON RESIGNING His COMMISSION The National Capitol Ui

staff, was in front of the former; the Count de Rochambeau and his suite, of the latter.The French troops in complete uniform, and well equipped, made a brilliant appearance, and had marched to the ground with a band of music playing, which was a novelty in the American service.The American troops, but part in uniform, and all in garments much the worse for wear, yet had a spirited, soldier-like air.About two o'clock the garrison sallied forth, and passed through with shouldered arms, slow and solemn steps, colors cased, and drums beating a British march.They were all well clad, having been furnished with new suits prior to the capitulation.They were led by General O'Hara on horseback, who, riding up to General Washington, took off his hat and apologized for the non-appearance of Lord Cornwallis, on account of indisposition.Washington received him with dignified courtesy, but pointed to Major-general Lincoln as the officer who was to receive the submission of the garrison.By him they were conducted into a field where they were to ground their arms.In passing through the line formed by the allied army, their march was careless and irregular, and their aspect sullen, the order to 'ground arms' was given by their platoon officer with a tone of deep chagrin, and many of the soldiers threw down their muskets with a violence sufficient to break them.This irregularity was checked by General Lincoln; yet it was excusable in brave men in their unfortunate predicament.This ceremony over, they were conducted back to Yorktown, to remain under guard unti removed to their places of destination." In the painting, General Lincoln on horseback is conducting the defeated army between the two lines of the victors. The entrance to the town is depicted in the center, with a glimpse of York River and the Chesapeake Bay.Truni- bull specially visited Yorktown to study the scene.The French officers were painted from life at Jefferson's house in Paris, long before the present picture was executed. Trumbull, writing from London about the same time, says: "I also made various studies for the Surrender of Lord Cornwallis, and in this found great difficulty; the scene was altogether one of utter formality the ground was levelmilitary etiquette was to be scrupulously observed, and yet the portraits of the principal officers of three proud nations must be preserved, without interrupting the general regularity of the scene.I drew it over and over again, and at last, having resolved upon the present arrangement, I prepared the small picture to receive the portraits." General Washington Resigning his Conimission.Washington resigned his commission as Commander-in-chief to Congress, then sitting at Annapolis, Maryland, at noon on December ,1783, a public entertainment having been given in his honor the day before.General Mifflin, its President, responded to his address with reverent courtesy and deep regard.Congress remained seated and covered; the vast assembly of spectators, standing and uncovered. The consul-general of France, and many of the public function- I'S The National Capitol

)& OBMSOM 2 E14 * wSR , BRWSrt6 - )( , W,SLOW8 M ?.{r,,ULLER 'Co CBVC ¶, BO'OPO 6 Mr1b wl.oT( t MLIS SV,QS. d ', ..,. R 10 lb, BB6OrOQ. ,kd/ dth,,,Z , Ps M. CV( .4 12 C.ç BEY'OIOSd $L 13 BOY 8Y'Qi 1 -- . 140 15 BOy 16 8 NURS 4 aries of Maryland were present."Few tragedies ever drew so many tears from so many beautiful eyes as the moving manner in which his Excellency took his leave from Congress."In the picture, we can almost hear him feelingly utter the words of his only surrender: "I have now the honor of offering my sincere congratulations to Congress, and of presenting my-self before them, to surrender into their hands the trust committed to me, and to claim the indulgence of retiring from the service of my country." Weir, Vsinderlyn, Powell and Chapman Paintings.-By a joint resolution of June23, 1836,a committee was appointed to "contractwith one or more competent American artists for the execution of fourhistorical pictures upon subjects serving to illustrate the discovery of America, the settlement of the United States, the history of the Revolution, or the adoption of the Constitution, to be placed in the vacant panels of the rotunda, the selection of the subjects to be left to the choice of the artists under the control of the Committee."It was under this authority that the remaining large panels of the rotunda were filled with pictures. They are, however, purely fanciful, not historical. The Embarkation of the Pilgrims.The Embarkation of the Pilgrims by Robert Weir affects us with something of the same incongruity which we feel SWlIO1d HHI. dO NOl.LVN3Vqw II-IL vi,, 7g.w -', The National Capitol 121 upon reading the words of one of the Pilgrims at starting: "We sang psalms and were merry."The picture is gloomy, hard and uninteresting, but commands the respect of the general public because of its deep religious spirit, and of critics because of the clever handling of some of the painting in shadow, its general conscientiousness and, in places, its admirable technique. It represents the Speedwell on July 22, i6zo, just before she set sail from Delft Haven for Southampton, to be joined by the ilfay/lower.The Pilgrims had fled from Scrooby, England, in i6o8; and now, after years of toil in Holland, they are about to seek yet another home, where they may worship God as they will.The Speedwell, however, did not reach America.She was found to be utterly unseaworthy; and at Plymouth, England, as many of her passengers as possible were transferred to the iJ!ayflower, which then, late in September, set sail alone for the New World. The Landing of Columbns.The Landing of Columbus is the work of John Vanderlyn.It is unnatural, feeble in execution and lacking in general impressiveness.It purports to represent the landing of the Spaniards on San Salvador in 1492.The great Genoese admiral, commanding under the flag of Ferdinand and Isabella the Santa Jiaria, Vina and Pinta, takes possession of that island-child of the American continents in the fond delusion that he has discovered a new way to the East Indies. It is hard to believe that this picture is from the brush of the pupil of Stuart and Robertson whom Burr honored as his protégé and thought the greatest American painter.Indeed, Bishop Kip says: " In 1844, I was in Paris, and inquiring about the picture, found that it was advancing under the hand of a clever French artist whom Vanderlyn had employed. Of course, the conception and design were his own, but I believe little of the actual work.In fact no one familiar with Vanderlyn's early style could ever imagine the 'Columbus' to be his.Place it by the side of the 'Marius,' and you see that they are evidently executed by different artists.The 'Marius' has the dark, severe tone of the old masters; the 'Landing of Columbus' is a flashy modern French painting." The painting of Marius referred to so attracted the attention of Napo- leon the Great that, after viewing the other pictures in the exhibition, he returned to it and in his rapid manner of speech said: "Give the medal to that."It is remembered that the emperor wished even to purchase it for permanent hanging in the Louvre, but that Vanderlyn patriotically declined, preferring to bring his best work to America. The Discovery of the Mississippi.The Discovery of the Mississippi was painted by William H. Powell.Some of the drawings for it were made in Paris, and it shows unmistakably the influence of French art.It has, perhaps, as little claim to historical merit as any picture ever painted, and is as purely fanciful in color as in the handling of the themeThe bright 122 The National Capitol armor, gay trappings and prancing horses do not befit thatill-starred expedition which, starting from Spain in 1538 5X hundred strong,arrived on the coast of Mexico in 1543 an enfeebled remnant of less than halfthat number, glad to have escaped with life the inhospitable swatnps and savages. De Soto, in search of the realization of his golden dreams, found only a grave beneath the watersf the mighty Western river. The picture, however, is remarkably pleasing for its vitality, admirable dramatic grouping and buoyancy of effect. It was painted in accordance with an act of Congress of 1847, authorizing the Library Committee to contract for an historical picture to take the place of the onewhich Henry Inman, an original contractor, had left unfinished at his untimelydeath. As Inman had already received three instalments of $a,000 each, there werebut $4,000 still available on the unexecuted contract; $6,000 besides weredirectly appropriated to Powell for the present painting.On March 3, x855, Powell received an additional appropriation of $2,000, making the total cost tothe government for the adornment of the panel $ta,000. Tue Baptism of Pocaliontas.The Baptism of Pocahontas waspainted by John G. Chapman.Matoaka, signifying a streamlet between two hills, or the "Snow Feather," as her Indian friendsdelighted to call her, was christened Rebecca."Chapman," says Watterston, " has given what may be considered as a true representation of Nantaquaas, the brotherof Poca- hontas, whom Captain Smith seems to have regarded as the very beauideal of manly beauty.The sister of Pocahontas is seated on the floor, with herchild etinging to her, while Opechankanough, also seated in the Indianfashion, scowls at the ceremony with deep malignity and ferocity.Rolfe, the husband of Pocahontas, stands behind her.Sir Thomas Dale, in the martial costume of the age, stands on the right of the officiating clergyman,\Vhitaker, and his standard bearer and page near him." Though the light-effect on the two principal figures pleasinglycatches the passing eye, and though the picture is most sympathetic to popularfancy, the whole as a work of art is unworthy of serious criticism.The subject, too, is not sufficiently important to warrant the conspicuoushanging.The scene is laid in Virginia juSt prior to the marriage of this daughter ofpowhatan in April. 1613.During the absence of John Smith, Captain Argall hadbribed Japazaws to betray Pocahontas into his hands.While on shipboard, she had fallen in love with, an Englishman, John Rolfe, in whose countryshe died four years later.Their union brought about a peace of many years with theIndians around Jamestown. Biliei'os.The arabesques above the paintings are adornedwith sculptured portraits, by Capellano and Causici, of Columbus, Raleigh,Cabot and La Salle These with their wreath work adornment, executed Ini8a7, cost $9,500. Sf)1W111OD 10 OMI(1NV1 1111 The National Capitol 125

In the contracted panels over the doors leading from the rotunda toward the four points of the compassare decorative designs in demi-relief, which are disgraceful disfigurements of the room and valuable only for the good- natured smile which they inevitably provoke from the most melancholy spectator.The government paidI4,000 for these unique decorations. Above the northern exit, Gevelot has presumably represented William Penn making his famous treaty with the Indians.The remarkable group by Causici above the bronze door portrays the landing of the Pilgrims; while the one over the south door, executed by the same artist, shows a hand-to-hand conflict between Daniel Boone and two Indians.The similar decorative panel above the western entrance is by CapeUano, and represents Pocahontas saving the life of Captain John Smith. The effect of these grotesque figures, crowded out of proportion by the contracted panels, was amusingly satirized by Mr. Wise on the floor of the House at the time of his tirade upon Greenough's "naked statue of George Washington."Mr. Wise said that "there was scarce one of the specimens of sculpture or painting in the rotundo which had not been dubbed with some disgraceful epithet, or been made the subject of some pungent criticism. The Indians when looking at the representations of their fellow aborigines, had observed, with much caustic shrewdness, that the first, over the door of the entrance, represented the old world coming to the new, and the new wel- coming the old, and giving it corn; but in the next was the representation of a treaty, in which the white man cheated the Indian! Then cameSmith saved by Pocahontas from death; and in the very next panel was Boone murdering two Indians! 'We give you corn, you cheat us of our lands; we save your life, you take ours.'A pretty faithful history of our dealing with the native tribes!Then as to the painting of the Declaration of Independ- ence, everybody remembered John Randolph's nickname of' the shin-piece.' And who could forget the bitter criticism of Burges, on the representation of Boone, 'That it very truly represented our dealing with the Indians, for we had not left them even a space to die upon.'(The whole ground in that panel being occupied by the body of the Indian already dispatched, so that when the other fell he must lie on the body of his countryman.)" The President's Secretary.In April, 1828, John Adams, the secretary and messenger of John Quincy Adams, was charged with the delivery of a Message to each House of Congress.Whilst passing from the Hall of Rep- resentatives, after delivering his Message to that body, to the Senate Cham- ber, he was waylaid and assaulted in the rotunda by Russell Jarvis in the presence of a \Iember of the House, who interposed and separated theparties. The President notified the Senate of the assault; but, though a resolution was introduced declaring it a contempt, that body adjourned sine die without taking action. 126 The National Capitol

Remains in State.Liiicolii.Booth shot Lincoln a few minutes aftes ten o'clock on the evening of Good Friday, April r,1865.The President passed away the next day in a private house opposite Ford's Theater, where the tragedy occurred. The funeral ceremony proper was held in the East Room of the White House, April i9th, after which, at two o'clock in the afternoon, the procession started for the Capitol, amidst tolling of bells, firing of cannon and general mourning.The cortege slowly ascended the hill to the north of the Capitol, entered the great gates and proceeded to the central eastern stairway, where it halted.The casket of the dead President was borne up the steps, beneath the very spot where six weeks before he had delivered his second inaugural.The remains \vere lovingly laid in state on a simple bier, draped in black, in the center of the rotunda, beneath the frescoed canopy.The hall itself was hung with mournful trappings.A second service was then read; and the procession dispersed, leaving the sacred remains guarded by officers with drawn swords.Night closed in, and the little jets concealed in the upper dome cast mysterious reflections through the great hall of the Capitol.All was hushed; for the chieftain slept!The body lay in state throughout the following day, when thousands paid their tearful homage to the spot.Before se1en o'clock on the morning of the 21st, the little box, which held so much that the people loved and honored, was escorted to the Baltimore and Ohio station to be given back to the State which proudly and sadly claimed it, Lieutenant-General Grant closely following the casket of his peace-loving commander-in-chief whose fortunes strangely had been cast in the midst of war. Stevens.The mortal remains of Thaddeus Stevens were placed in state beneath the canopy on the i3th of August, i868.The bier which supported the casket was the same used for Lincoln, newly covered, however, with black cloth, " as the old cloth," records the SEar, "was destroyed by the recent explosion at the Capitol.The catafalque is erected immediately in front of Ellicott's statue of Lincoln in the rotunda.The face of the statue towards the coffin."The Butler Zouaves formed the guard of honor.A large number of persons paid tribute to the dead, among whom were noticeable throngs of colored people, some deeply affected.At nine o'clock on the morning of the i4th, appropriate services were held, also in the rotunda, after which the casket was borne away. GarfiehLLate in the afternoon of September 21, iSSi, the plateau to the east of the Capitol was massed with military organizations.The officers of the army and navy were drawn up in two lines leading to the foot of the grand central steps, which were crowded with people save where a passageway had been kept open to the bronze doors.The grounds were crowded with spectators, but all was as still a night.Before the steps was a hearse drawn by six magnificent gray horses.A rich casket was dislodged and tH Uist)VkY UI TH MIS SIIPI. The National Capitol 129

borne slowly up the steps, accompanied by the reception committee, President Arthur and members of the Cabinet, and by legislators and justices of the highest court of the government.The Marine Band played its saddest dirge. The casket was placed tenderly on the bier, and a second martyred President slept in the rotunda of the Capitol.For a moment the assemblage stood in silence.Then the panel was removed, and the familiar face, emaciated with long suffering, lay open to view.But where were the eloquent lips trembling with the emotion of fiery debate, where the full cheek, where the intellectual brow, where the bright eyes whose last intelligent gaze had been upon the boundless sea at Elberon ?Even General Grant, whose duty it had been to gaze carelessly on death, was affected by the scene. A guard of honor was left to watch the casket. On the morning of the 22d, the public were permitted to pay their tribute, and during that day thousands passed in at the eastern door and out at the western, some even ascending the dome to see the great number of mournful citizens in the rotunda and the long line outside the Capitol, stretching to Second Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, each awaiting his turn to pass the casket.It is supposed that 40,000 persons so paid their tribute.The rotunda was draped in mourning.Exquisite floral decorations surrounded the bier. One massive wreath attracted the greatest attention.It came from the Brit- ish Embassy at the express command of the Queen. On a card were the words: "Queen Victoria, to the memory of the late President Garfield.An expression of her sorrow and sympathy with Mrs. Garfield and the American nation. September 22, r88i."At half-past six in the evening, by order of Secretary Blame, supposedly at Mrs. Garfield's request, the late President's face was closed to view.Even this did not stay the interest of the publicduring the next morning, thousands passed the closed casket. On the morning of the 23d, Mrs. Garfield, accompanied by her daughter

Mollie, her son Harry, Colonel and Mrs. Rockwell, General Swaim and - Attorney-General and Mrs. MacVeagh, drove to the Senate wing and repaired to the President's room.Sergeant-at-Arms Bright was immediately sum- moned; and at Mrs. Garfield's request, the guard retired from the rotunda, and all its entrances were closed.At half-past eleven, the bereaved widow passed through the north door and knelt by the mortal remains of the Presi- dent.The walls of the rotunda only can tell of that farewell! At noon, by Mrs. Garfield's request, General Swaim and Colonel Rockwell, the devoted friends and faithful nurses of the departed, closed and locked for the last time the casket-lid.That afternoon, services were held in the presence of a most distinguished gathering.The veterans of the Army of the Cumberland were the first to enter the rotunda.The officers of the army and navy wore crape upon their sleeves and sword hilts.The Chief justice and Associate Justices Miller, Harlan and Matthews were present, wearing their 9 530 The National Capitol official robes.From the south wing came the members and officers of the House.From the north wing came the Senate, accompanied by the Cabinet and ex-Vice-Presidents Hamlin and Wheeler.In advance were ex-Presidents Grant and Hayes, with President Arthur on the arm of Secretary Elaine. The last two sat at the west end of the semi-circle directly opposite the ex- Presidents.Seats in the front row were reserved for the Cabinet also and for members of the family.The officiating clergymen and the philharmonic societies were grouped about the head of the casket.As the first notes of the hymn "Asleep in Jesus" were sung, the guard of honor quietly withdrew, leaving the body to the offices of the Church.Scripture was read by Rev. Dr. Rankin.This was followed by the prayer of Elder Isaac Errett of Cincin- nati.Rev. F. D. Poweres, of Vermont Avenue Christian Church, of which Garfield was a member, then preached the funeral sermon, after which another prayer was offered by Rev. J. G. Butler.As the casket was borne down the steps of the Capitol, a beautiful rainbow was clearly visible against thedark, cloud-swept sky.What did it portend? Logaii.On Thursday, December 30, i886, the mortal remains of John A. Logan, the brave, were conveyed to the Capitol from his fineold home, Calumet Place, where he had at last surrendered.The casket, wrapped in the American flag, was laid in state in the rotunda upon the bier whichhad served a similar purpose for the remains of Lincoln, Garfield, Chase, Sumner and Stevens.During the afternoon and night and until eleven o'clock on Friday, thousands of persons viewed the remains of the dead Senator,general and patriot.At half-past eleven, the casket was tenderly borne to the Sen- ate Chamber, where appropriate funeralservices were held.Justices of the Supreme Court, Senators, Representatives and members ofthe Cabinet and diplomatic corps were in attendance.Seats immediately in front of the casket were reserved for Mrs. Logan and others of the family.Rev. Dr. John P. Newman, Chaplain Butler of the Senate, Bishop Andrewsand Rev. Dr. Tiffany were the officiating clergymen.The ceremony was impressive. Fragrant flowers with endearing mottoes, the contribution of friendsand comrades throughout the country, occupied all the available spacearound the casket.Rev. Dr. Newman preached an eloquent funeral sermon. )Iithiight in the Rotmida.At midnight in the rotunda,the step of the traverser grows stealthy, and he speaks in whispers.The historic walls, which so oft have looked upon the dead, answer step andvoice in hollow accents until the belated visitor finds himself lookingfearfully for some demonsome spiritto leap up in his path, or dropleopard-like from above. Behind each arch lurks, then, the Quasimodo of the Capitol.Can the spirit which Victor Hugo conjured up for Notre-Dame havesought refuge among the secret passages of the dome ?Is Quasimodo alive; and does he now unsuspected lurk in and defend the mighty precincts ofthe Capitol as VLNOHV3OJddO PS'LLdVU SILL ir, 4V,'2?7Z!.. /4'1- The National Capitol '33 he once hovered about and defended Notre-Dame ? Who knows ? Who knows?

"Egypt would have taken him for a God of this temple; the Middle Ages believed him to be its demon; he was in fact its soul.So much was this the case that to those who know that Quasimodo has existed, Notre-Dame is now solitary, inanimate, dead.They feel that something has disappeared.That vast body is emptyit is a skeletonthe spirit has quitted itthey see the place thereof, but that is all.It is like a skull, which still has boles for the eyes, but no eyesight." THE CONGRESSIONAL LIBRARY

THE rooms which, until July 31, 2897, were occupied by the X11 Congressional Library are upon the main floor,onthesestfront i of the central build- :; - left of the entrance t. IL door are worthy of passingnotice,because of their Amen.. canizedcapitals. The principalhail, running due north and south, is 91 feet 6 inchesin length by 34 feet in width. At each end runs, at right angles, a wing 90feet 6 inches in length by 29 feet 6 inches in width.All three have the same height, 38 feet. The walls, alcoves, stairways, aisles andbalconies of these rooms were formerly almost a solid mass of books,manuscripts, newspapers, periodicals and prints.Many of these were secured to the Libraryby exchange, gift and purchase under a small annual appropriation,but more through the provision of the copyright law which compels as acondition of its fulfillment the de- positing of two copies of each copyrightedwork in the Library of Congress. Under this alone, 55,906 publications of variouskinds were added during the year 1896. This wonderful collection of books, nowin the new Library building, took its rise in a small appropriation of$,000, made April 24, i800, for fitting up a room with books for the useof Congress.The joint committee appointed to make the purchase selected forthe Library room the chamber in the old north wing which had beenoccupied by the Representatives during the last session of the Sixth Congress.Inspired with unusual governmental economy, they recommendedthat the Secretary of the Senate bedirected to sell the trunks in which the books hadbeen imported.John Beckley of Virginia was the first Librarian.He was appointed by PresidentJefferson The National Capitol '35

January 26, 1802, at a salary "not to exceed2 per diem for every day of necessary attendance."In the following April, the first catalogue of the Librarywas issued.It credits the collection in an old-fashioned way with 7 duodecimos, 581 octavos, 164 quartos, 212 foliosand 9 maps. In 1814, the Library, which had then considerably grown in proportions, was destroyed by the burning of the Capitol by the British; an ill return for the purchase in London of a majority of the volumes.The soldiers glee- fully used the books as fuel with which to ignite the building.On the ioth of the following October, the loss of the Library being sorely felt, Mr. Goldsborough, chairman of the Joint Library Committee of Congress, brought to the attention of the Senate a letter from ex-President Jefferson, written at Monticello, September II, 5814, in which he said:

"1 learn from the newspapers that the vandalism of our enemy has triumphed at Wash- ington, over science as well as the arts, by the destruction of the public library, with the noble edifice in which it was deposited....I presume it will be among the early objects of Congress to re-commence their collection.This will be difficult while the war continues, and intercourse with Europe is attended with so much risk.You know my collection, its condition and extent.I have been fIfty years making it, and have spared no pains, opportunity or expense, to make it what it now is.\Vhile residing in Paris, I devoted every afternoon I was disengaged. for a Summer or two, in examining all the principaL book- stores, turning over every book with my own hands, and putting by everything which related to America, and, indeed, whatever was rare and valuable in every science; besides this, I had standing orders, during the whole time I was in Europe, in its principal book marts, principally Amsterdam, Frankfort, Madrid, and London, for such works relating to America as could not be found in Paris.So that in that department, particularly, such a collection was made as probably can never again be effected; because it is hardly probable that the same opportunities, the same time, industry, perseverance, and expense, with some knowledge of the bibliography of the subject would again happen to be in concurrence.During the same period, and after my return to America, I was led to procure also whatever related to the duties of those in the highest concerns of the nation ; so that the collection, which I suppose is of between nine and ten thousand volumes, while it includes what is chiefly valuable in science and literature generally, extends more particularly to whatever belongs to the American statesmen; in the diplomatic and parliamentary branches, it is particularly full. It is long since I have been sensible it ought not to continue private property, and had provided that, at my death, Congress should have the refusal of it, at their own price; but the loss they have now incurred makes the present the proper moment for their accommodation, without regard to the small remnant of time and the barren use of my enjoying it.I ask of your friendship, therefore, to make for me the tender of it to the Library Committee of Con- gress, not knowing myself of whom the Committee consists....I should be willing, indeed, to retain a few of the books to amuse the time I have yet to pass, which might be valued with the rest, but not included in the sum of valuation until they should be restored at my death, which I would cheerfully provide for, so that the whole library, as it stands in the catalogue, should be theirs, without any garbling."

The Senate passed a resolution authorizing the Librart Committee to cois tract for this purchase; but when the resolution reached the House, it occa- 136 The National Capitol

sioned considerable debate.The objections raised were, in general, the extent of the library, its cost and the nature of many of Jefferson's selections.The narrowness of some members led them to criticise the purchase on the ground that the library contained a few books of a skeptical character, notably the works of Voltaire.The bias of one Representative, whose high sense of morality evidently was willing to sacrifice the everlasting blessedness of the "sage of Monticello" for the good of Congressmen in general, led him to "move to re-commit the bill to a select committee, with instructions to report a new section authorizing the Library Committee, as soon as said library shall be received at Washington, to select therefrom all books of an atheistical, irreligious, and immoral tendency, if any such there be, and send the same back to Mr. Jefferson without any expense to him" ; but this motion the gentleman afterwards thought proper to withdraw.On January 26, i8i, the final question was decided in the House in the affirmative by a vote of 8r to 71.Webster, for some reason, spoke and voted against it; Calhoun voted for it.The Jefferson collection, numbering about 6,700 volumes, was accordingly purchased.It cost $23,950, and forms the nucleus of the present Library.The old room had not yet been restored, however, after the fire; and it was four years before the Joint Library Committee was authorized to fit up and furnish suitable accommodations, again in the north wing, and to move the collection into the Capitol. Writing in 1842 of the Library room in the central building, Librarian Watterston says it "consists of twelve alcoves, supporting two galleries run- fling along the whole length of the apartment froh north to south, and containing the same number of recesses as alcoves in the lower room.The arched alcoves are ornamented in front by fluted pilasters, copied from the pillars in the temple of Lysicrates at Athens.Two columns of freestone, the capitals like those of the pilasters, support the gallery near the main entrance, and two corresponding columns stand near the window which leads into the loggea or western colonnade, extending the whole length of the apartment. Each end of the room, as well as the ceiling, is richly decorated with stucco ornaments and three wells or sky lights, the wells of which, also richly ornamented, admit the light from aboye.A large room on the south, connected with this apartment, contains an extensive and valuable collection of law books exclusively, and a room adjoining it is used by the Judiciary committee.The library room was designed by Mr. C. Bulfinch, then architect of the public Buildings, and does great credit to his taste. "Several presents have been made to the library since its origin.Among these is a splendid and valuable collection of medals, designed by M. Denon, and executed by order of the French Government. The series commences in 1796 and ends in r8i, and embraces all the battles and events which occurred during the reign of Napoleon Bonaparte These are beautifully The National Capitol '37 executed, and arranged with a small collection of American medals in Paris- ian bronze, in neat cases on either side of the mantlepiece, at the South end of the room.All of these were presented by Mr. Irving, the brother, it it said, of George W. Irving, who obtained them while in Paris, at considerable difficulty, and at a cost of five thousand francs. "An original likeness of Christopher Columbus, presented by Mr. Barrell, American consul at Madrid,* and found by him in an old castle in Spain, is hung up on the south end of the room.Marble hurts of Washington, Jeffer- son, Lafayette, Judge Marshall, John Quincy Adams,Van Buren, and plaster busts of Jackson and Moultrie, and a medallion of Madison, mostof them standing on pedestals, are placed in different parts of the room." Another fire, on December 24, xS5i, destroyed over three-fifths ofthe entire Library, which at that time numbered about ,000 volumes.The ZizIel/igencer of the next day says: " Besides the books, a number ofsuperior paintings, hanging around the Library walls and between the alcoves, were inc'uded in the destruction.Of these we can call to mind Stuart's paintings of the first five Presidents; an original portrait of Columbus; asecond portrait of Columbus; an original portrait of Peyton Randolph; aportrait of Bolivar; a portrait of Baron Steuben by Pyne, an Englishartist of merit; one of Baron De Kaib; one of Cortez; oneof Judge Hanson, of Maryland, presented to the Library by his family.Between eleven and twelve hundred bronze medals of the Vattemare exchange, some of them morethan ten cen- turies old, and exceedingly perfect, are amongst the valuablesdestroyed.Of the statuary burnt and rendered worthless, we recollect a statue ofJefferson; an Apollo in bronze by Mills; a very superiorbronze likeness of Washington; a bust of Gen. Taylor by an Italian artist;and a bust of Lafayette by David."The year following this second conflagration, a lumpappropriation of $5,000 was made to replenish the collection.In 1853, according to plans of Walter, whom Clark assisted in the execution, the room wasremodeled and rendered as fire-proof as possible, with iron cases and ironceilings, and the books replaced.The wings were later added from space previously devoted to committee rooms. The library of copyright books, formerly kept in the PatentOffice, was removed to the Capitol in 1870, when the Librarian wasmade Registrar of Copyrights.Besides the recruiting of the Library in this way and bythe regular appropriations of Congress, which have latelyaveraged aboutII,O0O a year, the most extensive additions tothe Library have been the 45,000 books, mostly scientific, belonging to the Smithsonian Institution;later contributions from the same institution, which it had received by meansof exchange from scientific men and societies throughout theworld; and many

* G. G. Barrell was Consul at 1!2hça from iSiS to 1535, when he died. 138 The National Capitol thousands of volumes, principally relating to American history, purchased from Peter Force for the sum of $Ioo,000. Dr. Joseph M. Toner, of Wash- ington City, in 1882, generously contributed his private library also, numbering over 27,000 volumes, and nearly as many pamphlets, which, especially for its rare Washingtoniana, is considered a valuable acquisition to the government collection. The growth of the Congressional Library was most marked during the reign of Ainsworth Rand Spofford * of Cincinnati, who was appointed Librarian in 1864 by President Lincoln after a service of three years as assistant.At the time of its removal, it was supposed to number in the neighborhood of 755,000 volumes, besides a collection of many thousands of pamphlets, maps, photographs, etchings and music, making it the sixth library in size in the world. The Library possesses, besides, a rich collection of engravings, illustrated works and art treasures; and its files of bound newspapers and periodicals, both foreign and American, are a mine of wealth for those who desire to read the diary of the world.A large proportion of such volumes were necessarily stored in the crypt and adjacent rooms until thecompletion of the new building, when the temporary storerooms, which much disfigured the crypt, were torn away, again opening to view its forty columns. While primarily for the use of Congress, even the justices of the Supreme Court not having the privilege of the books conferred upon them until 1812, the entire collection was, previous to July, 1897, as it is now, a reference library for the public as well.Between the hours of nine and four, daily except Sunday, and until the hour of adjournment during the session of either branch of Congress, any person may consult the books, and, in some instances,take them from the Library, upon making a reasonable deposit to insuretheir replacement in case of loss.Such deposit is not required, however, from Senators or Representatives, nor from about thirty other officials of the government. 'Fhe necessity for a new building for the Library was first formally suggested to Congress in a report made by the Librarian in 1872.For fourteen years, however, nothing definite was done by Congress,though Mr. Spofford says "various schemes for continuing the Librarywithin the Capitol were brought forward.One was to extend the west front of the edifice one hundred feet, to hold the books; another, to project the eastern front two hundred and fifty feet, thus making a conglomerate building out of what is now a purely classic edifice; a third, and more preposterous scheme, was to accommodate the Library growth within the great inner concave of the dome,which

* The list of Librarians, not above mentioned, with the dates of their appointments, is as follows: Patrick Magruder, 1807; George Watterston, 1815 ;John S. Meehan, 1829; John G. Stephenson, 18ôz; John Russell Young, 1897. The National Capitol was to be literally honeycombed with books from the floor of the rotunda to the apex: a plan which would have given space for only twelve years' growth of the Library, besides increasing incalculably allthe difficulties of its administration.Every plan or enlarging the Capitol would have provided for less than thirty years' increase, after which Congress would be confronted with the same problem again, and forced to erect a new building after all the cost (estimated at four millions of dollars) of such enlargement.At length a commission of architects reported against disturbing the symmetry of the Capitol, and that elusive spectre was laid to rest length all differences between Senate and House were harmonized; the act fora separate building received over two-thirds majority in i886; a site of tenacres was purchased on a plateau near the Capitol for $8,000, thus providing foran ample and thoroughly equipped edifice, with ultimate accommodations for four and one-half millions of volumes."To-day, after the lapse of twenty- five years, the new building, the most palacious edifice in the world,may be called completed, and there the books and works of art have founda permanent home where they all can be enjoyed. From the west portico of the central building, which is accessible through the former Library hail, an extensive view may be had of the growth of the city westward, of the chain of parkings extending to the monument and White House, and of the surrounding hills and country.This view should not be lost, especially by those who have not the strength to ascend the dome. SUPREME COURT CHAMBER

To the north of the rotunda is a light- well, evidently modeled after some Grecian temple.Its curious " tobacco capitals" were designed by Latrobe from the flowers and leaves of the native plant.To the east is a vestibule from which is accessible the office of the Marshal of the Supreme Court of the United States, affording a side entrance to the Court room itself. Court Roorn.Beyond this, and on the east side of the main corridor run- fling to the north or Senate wing, is the door to the Supreme Court chamber, which, except for a short period, was occupied by the Senate from i800 until 1814, and again, after the restoration, until January 4, i85,when the Senators moved intc their present hail.It was first occupied by the Supreme Court in December, i86o. This semi-circular chamber is feet in length, 45 feet in width and the same in height.The small gallery to the east, which was the only onepreserved after the removal of the Senate, is supported by columns ofdark, variegated Potomac marble, whose Ionic capitals, modeled afterthose in the Temple of Minerva, are chiseled from Italian blocks.It was Latrobe's design "moreover," says Watterston, "to support one of the galleriesof the Senate chamber with emblematic figures of the old Thirteen States,decorated with their peculiar insignia, and the models were actuallyprepared by one of the Italian artists whom he had engaged to come to this country;but a neglect or refusal on the part of Congress tomake the necessary appropriations defeated his designs, and the plaster models were afterwards thrownaside and destroyed." Beneath the gallery are four mantles. The two in the center, which areof white marble, are carved in bas-relief.They are designed to illustrate the idea., that in union there is strength.On the one mantle, Hercules tries in The National Capitol '4' vain to break a bundle of fasces bound in bonds ofharmony; on the other, laughing children snap in twain the single rods unbound.In cold weather, logs burn brightly in the fire-places to the north and south.Behind the dark red draperies, during each session, the justices, one at a time, are served with a light repast.They sit upon the bench before the Ionic pillars. Lord Chief Justice Coleridge of England, who visited this country in 1883, is the only person remembered to have been honored with the courtesy of a seat with the Court.Mr. Justice Miller, the senior associate justice, vacated his chair in favor of the learned visitor. The ceremony of opening the Court is impressive from its very simplicity. As the justices enter, the crier announces: " The Honorable theChief Justice and the associate justices of the Supreme Court of the United States."The attending lawyers and spectators respectfully stand until the Courtis seated, 'hen the crier continues: "Oyez, oyez, oyez! All persons having business before the Honorable the Supreme Court of the United States areadmonished to draw near and give their attention; for the Courtis now sitting.God save the United States and this Honorable Court."An adjournment of this august tribunal is announced in these words: "ThisHonorable Court is now adjourned until to-morrow at twelve o'clock." The space within the semi-circular railing is reserved for members ofthe bar of the Supreme Court; the table in the center for the attorneywho is addressing the Court.Any lawyer, after three years of practice in the highest court of his State, may be admitted upon motion.Visitors sit upon the cush- ioned benches between the railing and the wall. Tue Coiirt.The Supreme Court of the UnitedStates is the only court established directly by the Constitution.The justices, as we commonly say, are appointed for life or, in the moreexact words of that great instrument, "hold their offices during good behaviour."They are nominated by the President, and appointed by him upon the confirmation ofthe Senate.The Supreme Court was organized in September, 1789.Of the soS years of its existence, John Marshall and Roger B. Taneyserved, as Chief Justices, a combined period of over 64 years, or nearly two-thirdsof the life of the Court. The first Chief Justice resigned in i7 to become Envoy Extraordinary to England, and six years later,when Governor of New York, (leclined a re- appointment after confirmation, because he was " notperfectly convinced that under a system so defective it would obtain the energy,weight and dignity which were essential to its affording due support tothe National Government, nor acquire the public confidenceand respect which, as the last resort of the justice of the nation, it should possess." To morefully understand how little attractive, in the eves of the fathers of the nation, was aseat in this highest court of the judicial branch of thegovernment, we have but to remember also that prior to i800, V illiam Cushing, anassociate Justice, declined an 142 The National Capitol appointment as Chief Justice; that Oliver Ellsworth resignedas Chief Justice to proceed as Minister to France; and that John Rutledge, John Blair, Robert H. Harrison, Thomas Johnson and Alfred Moore all resignedas associate justicestwo, Rutledge and Harrison, to become Chief Justicesof their respective States of South Carolina and 1laryland. The last sitting of the Supreme Court in Philadelphiawas on Friday, August i, i800.The next entry in the records of the Court is: "At the Supreme Court of the United States holden in the City of Washington(the same being the seat of the national Government) on the first Monday being the 2d day of February, A.D. j8oi, and ofour Independence the twenty fifth."William Cushing was the only justice present and adjournedto the morrow; and then again to the 4th.On that day Samuel Chase and Bushrod Washington appeared, and John Marshall was presentto qualify as Chief Justice and take his seat. The Court now consists of a Chief Justice and eight associatejustices. The associate justices receive an annual salary each of $io,000,and the Chief Justice of $10,500.The associate justice who has been longest in service upon this bench sits upon the Chief Justice's right, the next in seniorityupon his left, and the others alternate in likemannerThe present members of the Court are: Chief Justice White Pitney, VanDevanter, Day, McKenna, Holmes, Hughes, Lamar, McReynolds Each of the justices is robed in a black silk gown.There is some authority to show, however, that, at the earlier sittings of tEe Court, a tn-colored scarf, probably occasioned by the French craze, was sometimes worn; and in the picture of John Jay on the walls of the robing room, the gown itself has a border of brick-red, the sleeves being almost entirely of that color. Benjamin Harrison thus comments upon the custom of the Court inwear- ing gowns: "When the constitutional. organization of the Court had been settled and the high duty of selecting the Justices had been performed by Washington, the smaller, but not wholly unimportant, question ofa court dress loomed up, and much agitated and divided the minds ofour public men.Shall the Justices wear gowns? And if yea, the gown of the scholar, of the Roman Senator, or of the priest?Shall they wear the wig of the English Judges?Jefferson and Hamilton, who had differed so widely in theix views as to the frame of the Constitution, were again in opposition upon these questions relating to millinery and hair-dressing.Jefferson was against any needless official apparel, but if the gown was to carry he said: 'For Heaven's sake discard the monstrous wig which makes the English Judges look likerats peeping through bunches of oakum.'Hamilton was for the English wig with the English gown Burr sas for the English gown, but against the 'inverted The National Capitol

wool-sack termed a wig.'The English gown was taken and the wig left, and I am sure that the flowing black silk gown still worn by the Justices helps to preserve in the court room that dignity and sense of solemnity which should always characterize the place of judgment." Marble Busts.-On the brackets about the semi-circular walls are arranged busts of the former Chief Justices.To the left, upon entering the

SUPREME COURT CHAMBER

chamber, are those of John Jay, the first Chief Justice, by John Frazee;Oliver Ellsworth, the third, by Auger; Roger B. Tanev, the fifth, by Rinehart;and Morrison \V. Waite, the seventh, by St. Gaudens.To the right are similarly placed those of John Rutledge, the second; John Marshall, thefourth; and Salmon P. Chase, the sixth. When first the question of so honoring Chief Justice Taney camebefore the Senate, the aversion to the author of the Dred Scottdecision was still intense.An anti-slavery feelingto which, no doubt, is due thefact that no appropriate funeral ceremonies were held in the Capitol athis deathis apparent in the debates. Mr. Sumner, in antagonizing the purchase of the marble bust, bitterly asserted that "Taney would behooted down the pages of history, and that an emancipated country wouldfix upon his name the '44 The National Capitol stigma it deserved.He had administered justice wickedly, had degraded the Judiciary, and had degraded the age." Mr. Reverdy Johnson defended the Chief Justice's memory, replying tartly: "The Senator from Massachusetts will be happy if his name shall stand as high upon the historic page as that of the learned Judge who is now no more."Mr. Sumner had the last word. He said that in listening to the Maryland Senator he was " reminded of a character, known to the Roman church, who always figured at the canoniza- tion of a Saint as the Devil's advocate"; and, carrying out the figure, he added, that if it was in his power, "Taney should never be recognized as a Saint by any vote of Congress."On February 23, 1865, the bill was abandoned by its advocates as hopeless.On January 29, 1874, however, a bill passed the Senate without debate providing for the purchase of the bust of the Chief Justice, and at the same time of one of Chase.This occurred about a month before the death of Mr. Sumner.Can it be that his bitterness had perished ?It would seem so; for, on December 2, 1872, he had proposed "that the names of battles with fellow-citizens, shall not be continued in the army register or placed on the regimental colors of the United States," and in the preamble to the bill had stated: "It is contrary to the usage of civilized nations to perpetuate the memory of civil war." Important CasesPerhaps of the cases coming before the Supreme Court since itfirst sat within these walls those which have attracted the most popular interest are the series known as the Income Tax Cases, argued in March, 1895, by Richard Olney, then Attorney General, and associate counsel on behalf of the government, and by Joseph H. Choate and others on behalf of certain New York corporations. The Court, by a vote of five to- four, finally pronounced the law of Congress, framed for the purpose of collecting the income tax, unconstitutional. Notable Events.This Court room is one of the most historic rooms in the Capitol.Here, before its restoration, Thomas Jefferson, the first Presi- dent to be inaugurated at the Capitol, delivered his address and took the oath of office in the presence of Chief Justice Marshall.John Adams had rudely left the city before the ceremonies.He had, however, convened the Senate by proclamation, and it met at ten o'clock A.M., when Mr. Hillhouse administered the oath to the Vice-President-elect, and he to the new Sena- tors.The President-elect entered the chamber accompanied by the Heads of Departments, the Marshal of the District, officers and other gentlemen, and took the seat usually occupied by the Vice-President.The latter sat upon his right; the Chief Justice upon his left.This inauguration is interesting in spite of the fact that the romantic story of the democratic way in which Jefferson rode to the Capitol alone, tied his horse to the paling, took the oath of office and rode away, has been proven to be a fabrication.In a dispatch to Grenville, Foreign Secretary in Pitt's administration, Edsard Thornton, The National Capitol '45

who was in charge of the British Legation at Washington, reports officially that Jefferson "came from his own lodgings to the house where Congress convenes, and which goes by the name of the Capitol, onfoot, in his ordinary dress, escorted by a body of militia artillery from the neighboring State, and accompanied by the Secretaries of the Navy and the Treasury, and a number of his political friends in the House of Representatives." Henry Adams, to whose historical research we owe this authority, says that "Jefferson was then living as Vice-President at Conrad's boarding-house, within a stone's throw of the Capitol.He did not mount his horse only to ride across the square and dismount in a crowd of observers.Only the North wing of the Capitol had then been so far completed as to be occupied bythe Senate, the Courts and the sma]l library of Congress.The centre rose not much above its foundations; and the South wing, some twenty feetin height, contained a temporary oval brick building, commonly called the 'Oven,' in which the House of Representatives * sat in some peril of their lives, forhad not the walls been strongly shored up from without, the structurewould have crumbled to pieces.Into the north wing the new President went, accompanied by the only remaining Secretaries, Dexter and Stoddert, and by hisfriends from the House.Received by Vice-President Burr and Marshall, after a short pause, Jefferson rose, and in asomewhat inaudible voice began his Inaugural address." In the same chamber, at twelve o'clock on March 4, 1805,Congress having adjourned the day before, Jefferson delivered his second inauguraland was again sworn into office by Marshall, in the presenceof both Houses and a concourse of citizens.The Chief Justice administered the oath of office to George Clinton, also, who had been elected to succeed Burr asVice-President. Here, in October, 18o3, the Senate confirmed the treatywith Napoleon the First, by which we acquired the vast area of territoryknown as the " Louisi- ana Purchase."In the same month, Congress submitted to the Legislatures of the several States for ratification the Twelfth Amendmentof the Constitution. The Senate occupied this chamber when war wasdeclared for the second time with Great Britain, and later, with Mexico.Here the Senate sat when, on December 2, 1823, President Monroe sent to Congressthe " Monroe Doc- trifle" "We owe it, therefore, to candor, and to theamicable relations existing between the United States and those powers, todeclare, that we should consider any attempt on their part to extend their system to anyportion of this hemisphere asdangerous to our peace and safety."Here, in 1830, occurred the famous debate between Websterof Massachusetts and Hayne of South Carolina, when the great speechof the Southern advocate lost much of its brilliant effect by beingovershadowed by a greater.It was * The House did not occupy "the oven" until the First Session of theSeventh Congress. JO 146 The National Capitol in the course of this debate that Websteruttered the immortal words: Liberty and Union, now and forever, one andinseparable."It is so unusual as to be worthy of mention thathere the Senate, on December ii, 1832, elected a Catholic, Rev. Charles Constantine Pise, asits Chaplain. Since the chamber has been the home of theSupreme Court, for many days in February, 1877, following the approval onJanuary 29th of "An act to provide for and regulate the counting of votes forPresident and Vice-Presi- dent, and the decisions of questions arising thereon,for the term commenc- ing March 4, A.D. 1877," the ElectoralCommission occupied the bench. These walls, therefore, virtually first heard the announcementof the election of Hayes as President.On this occasion the small gallery was opened for the only time since the departure of the Senate.Jury trials have occurred in several instances in the Supreme Court, and, nodoubt, will occur again in cases of original jurisdiction, a factinteresting and not often noted. linpeachinents of Pickering and Clsase.The newRepublic was not many years of age before the Houseexercised the right of impeachment for high crimes and misdemeanors, given it bythe Constitution.In. 1803 it preferred articles against John Pickering; and he was tried inthe old Senate Chamber in the next year.The question, " Is the Court of opinion that John Pickering be removed from the office of judge of thedistrict court of the district of New Hampshire ?" was submitted to the Senate,sitting as the court, on March 12th, and decided irsthe affirmative by a vote of 20 to 6. On the 5th of January, 1804, Mr. J. Randolph, by aspeech in the House of Representatives, initiated the proceedingswhich led to the impeachment and trial of Samuel Chase, one of the associatejustices of the Supreme Court of the United States.Eight articles of impeachment were found by the House, and seven managers selected to conduct the trial on itsbehalf.The grounds of the impeachment were that Samuel Chasehad been irregular, arbitrary and prejudicial in the conduct of certain trials presided overby him while on circuit.The first of these was the trial of John Fries, charged with treason, held in the city of Philadelphia during the months of April and May, i800, whereat "Samuel Chase . .did in his judicial capacity, conduct himself in a manner highly arbitrary, oppressive and unjust."The next was the trial in Richmond, in May of the same year, of James ThompsonCallender, arraigned for libel upon John Adams, then President of the United States.It was charged also that, in thetrial of a case at Newcastle, Delaware, Chase had descended from the dignity of a judge, refused to discharge thegrand jury and stooped to the level of an informer; and that, in a trial held at Bal- timore in May, 1803, he had perverted his official right and duty by addressing the grand jury in an intemperate and inflammatory political haranguewith intent to incite their fears and resentment, and those of the goodpeople 01 Maryland, against their State government and constitution. The National Capitol '47

Before the day assigned for receiving the answer of Chase, this chamber, says the report of the trial, "wasfitted up in a style of appropriate ele- gance.Benches, covered with crimson, on each side, and in a line with the chair of the President, were assigned to the members of the Senate.On the right and in front of the chair, a box was assigned to the managers,and, on the left, a similar box to Mr. Chase, and his counsel, andchairs allotted to such friends as he might introduce. The residue of the floor was occupied with chairs for the accommodation of the Members ofthe House of Repre- sentatives; and with boxes for the reception of the foreign Ministers,and civil and military officers of the United States.On the right and left of the chair, at the termination of the benches of the members of the court, boxes were assigned to stenographers, the permanentgallery was allotted to the indiscriminate admission of spectators.Below this gallery, and above the floor of the House, a new gallery was raised, and fitted up withpeculiar ele- gance, intended, primarily, for theexclusive accommodation of ladies.But this feature of the arrangement made by the Vice-President, was at anearly period of the trial abandoned, it having been found impracticable to separate the sexes !At the termination of this gallery, on each side, boxes were specially assigned to ladies attached to the families of publiccharacters. The preservation of order was devolved on theMarshal of the District of Columbia, who was assisted by a number of Deputies." The trial began on Monday, February 4, 1805.About a quarter before ten o'clock, the court was opened byproclamationall the members of the Senate, thirty-four, attending."The Senate Chamber, which is very extensive, was soon filled with spectators, a large portionof whom consisted of ladies who continued with little intermission toattend during the whole course of the trial.Samuel Chase being called to make answer to the articles of impeachment . . . appeared attended by Messrs. Harper, Martin and Hopkinson, his counsel; to whom seats wereassigned"The trial did not end until Friday, March 1st, when AaronBurr, Vice-President during Jef- ferson's first administration, arose and said: "It appearsthat there is not a constitutional majority of votes finding Samuel Chase, Esquire,guilty, on any one Article.It therefore, becomes my duty to declare thatSamuel Chase, Esquire, stands acquitted of all the articlesexhibited by the House of Repre- sentatives against him."It is a curious coincidence that Burr, who presided over the impeachment court, washimself not long after tried for treason, and acquitted, before John Marshall, who had sat with Chase uponthe bench, and who, like Burr, was disliked and distrusted by Jefferson. Quarrel between Benton and Foote.A sceneoccurred in this old Senate Chamber on April ry, i85o, whichcreated much excitement at the time.Senators Benton and Foote had already had severalsharp personal altercations in debate. On this occasion, while Mr. Foote wasreplying to Mr. 148 The National Capitol

Benton, the latter started from his seat and approached his opponent, who also advanced and took a stand in front of the Secretary's table, at the same time drawing and cocking a revolver.The confusion was very great.Senators immediately surrounded the combatants, drawing Mr. Benton back to his seat and inducing Mr. Foote to surrender his weapon.The committee to whom the matter was referred reported, July 3oth, that the whole scene was most dis- creditable to the Senate; that Mr. Foote had provoked Mr. Benton by bitter personal attacks; that Mr. Benton probably intended either to make a personal assault on Mr. Foote or to intimidate him; and that, while Mr. Foote had no intention of assaulting Mr. Benton, there had been imminent danger of blood-. shed.The committee, however, recommended no action, expressing only the hope that its condemnation of the occurrence would be "a sufficient rebuke and a warning not unheeded in future." Farewells of Calhoun, Clay, Webster.Within these walls, the cur- tain fell for the last time on the parliamentary careers of the three most notable actors yet on the stage of American statesmanshipCalhoun, Clay, Webster.A frequent visitor to the Capitol during Jackson's administrations, S. G. Goodrich, writes: "It was a marked epoch, for Webster, Cal- houn, and Clay were then in the Senate.It is seldom that three such men appear upon the theatre of action at the same time.They were each distinct from the other in person, manners, heart, constitution.. . .They were all of remarkable personal appearance: Webster of massive form, dark com- plexion, and thoughtful, solemn countenance; Clay, tall, ofrather slight frame, but keen, flexible features, and singular ease and freedom in his atti- tudes, his walk, and his gestures.Calhoun was also tall, but erect, and rigid in his formhis eye grayish blue, and flashing from beneath a brow at once imperious and scornful.Mr. Webster's works abound in passages which convey beautiful sentiments in beautiful languagegems of thought set in golden sentences, fitting them to become the adornments of gifted and tasteful minds, for all future time.With these other orators it is not so: there is an earnest, direct, vigorous logic in Calhoun, which, however, can spare not a sentence to any subsidiary thought; there is a warm, glowing, hearty current of persuasion in Clay, yet he is too ardent in the pursuit of his main design, to pause for a moment to gather or scatter flowers by the wayside." The South Carolinian was the first to retire. "Mr. Calhoun died," writes S. S. Cox, "on the last day of March, x8o, almost in the forum. The last words of his last speech in the Senate, uttered in the early part of that month, were these: 'Having faithfully done my duty to the best of my ability, both to the Union and my section, throughout this agitation, I shall have the con- solation, let what will come, that I am free from all responsibility.'Two friends then led him out of the Senate Chamber, and his seat was vacant." On the anno.u1cement of Calhoun's death to the Senate by his colleague, The National Capitol 149

Judge Butler, Webster pronounced upon him an eulogium beautiful in its thought and utter forgetfulness of the past: "Sir, I have not in public or in private life known a more assiduous person in the discharge of his appropriate duties. We shall delight to speak of him to those who are rising up to fill our places.And, when the time shall come that we ourselves shall go, one after

HENRY CLAY'S FAREWELL Ik e'igin.l & P. F Rot%erm,I another, to our graves, we shall cam' with us a deep sense of his genius and character, his honor and integrity, his amiable deportment in private life, and the purity of his exalted patriotism." Clay, strangely enough, delivered two farewells to the Senate.The first was the more effective; for an audience properlykeyed is as necessary to true dramatic effect as the genius of the actor.It was the 31st day of March, 1842; the Kentucky Senator, the observed of all observers, arose in his place supposedly at the climax of a great career; and his listeners were breathless '5° The National Capitol

in anticipation. He was the picture of Southern gallantrytall, erect, graceful, boldwith an eye that commands, a voice that attracts and a spirit that, proud in its own strength, holds itself dear!The orator feelingly recalled his early struggles with poverty and privation, his later detractions, friend- ships and triumphs.His reference to his adopted State wrung tears even from his antagonists: "I migrated to the State of Kentucky nearly forty-five years ago," said he."I went there an orphan who had not yet attained his majority, who had never recognized a father's smile or felt his caressespoor, penniless, without the favor of the great, with an imperfect and inadequate education, limited to the means applicable to such a boy; but scarcely had I stepped foot upon that generous soil before I was caressed with parental fond- ness, patronized with bountiful munificence, and I may add to this that the choicest honors, often unsolicited, have been showered upon me; and when I stood, as it were, in the darkest moments of human existenceabandoned by the world, calumniated by a large portion of my own countrymen, she threw around me her impenetrable shield, and bore-me aloft in her courageous arms and repelled the poisoned shafts of malignity and calumny aimed for my destruction, and vindicated my good jiame from every false andunfounded assault.'' The very desks were listening.The scene was more impressive than one from Shakespere's plays; for it was history, not drama No mimicry, no masks, no tinsel, no curtains, no wings!Theater, dress, characters, emotions all real, terribly real !Can we wonder then that all eyes were riveted upon the "Great Commoner"? Nay, even to-day, at the mention of his name, gray-beards give a nod and knowing look to presumptuous Youth, as if to say: "Sir, he belongs to our generation; you must not hope to produce his

counterpart." - We can imagine only what must have been- the scene as Henry Clay spoke his farewell lines: "May the blessing of Heaven rest upon the whole Senate and each member of it, and may the labors of everyone redound to the benefit of the nation and the advancement of his own fame and renOwn. And when you shall retire to the bosom of your constituents may you meet with that most cheering and gratifying of all human rewardstheir cordial 'Well done, good and faithful servant.'And now, Messrs. President and Senators, I bid you all a long, a last and a friendly farewell." Defeated for the third time for the Presidency, Clay's friends again induced him to don the robes of Senator.The Thirty-first Congress was to expire March ., iSi.Beforeits end, the "Great Pacificator" was extremely anxious to force the passage of the River and Harbor bill, which had an undoubted majority in each House if a vote could be reached.There were Senators, however, who were determined to defeat the measure by proposing amendments and by "speaking against timehen there is so little tIme left The National Capitol '5'

On the ist and 3d, Clay championed his cause in vigorous and subtle appeals, but in 'gain.These, with the exception of a few remarks upon the session called for executive business, were his last parliamentary utterances. Webster left the Senate two years before his death to become Secretary of State under Fillmore.On July i, i85o, he made his final effort in that forum to prove the need of a disposition of the "Compromise Measures." His opening words were a graceful tribute to the memory of the late Presi- dent, General Taylor.His last were a fitting farewell to the Senate, and to his own grand service there: "No man can suffer too much and no man can fall too soon, if he suffer or if he fall in defence of the liberties and Consti- tution of his country." Funerals of Calhoun am! Clay.Webster died at Marshfield, Massa- chusetts; Calhoun and Clay passed away in Washington and were honored with funeral exercises at the Capitol.On Tuesday, April 2, 1850, at twelve o'clock, the remains of John C.Calhoun were brought into the Senate Chamber, attended by the committee of arrangements and by Messrs. Man- gum, Clay, Webster: Cass, King and Berrien, who acted as pall-bearers. The sermon was preached by Rev. C. M. Butler, D.D., Chaplain of the Sen- ate.After the exercises, the funeral cortege proceeded to the Congressional cemetery, where the body was temporarily deposited.The escort was most distinguished in its character. The remains of Henry Clay were borne to the Capitol on Thursday, July I, 1852.The escort from the National Hotel, where he died, was composed of public associations, military and civic authorities, public function- ariesforeign and Americanand a long line of citizens and strangers. The exercises were held in the Senate Chamber.The funeral service of the Episcopal Church was read, and a sermon was preached by the Rev. Dr. Butler.The President of the United States and the Speaker of the House of Representatives occupied seats by the President of the Senate.The two innermost rows of chairs around the lifeless form were reserved for his brother Senators and certain representatives of State sovereignties. The committee who were to convey his remains to his native State, its delegation as chief mourners, the pall-bearers and personal friends also were assigned places in close proximity to the deceased.Behind these were assembled Representatives, members of the diplomatic corps, the Cabinet, officers of the army and navy, among whom Major-General Scott and Commodore Morris were conspicuous, municipa' councils and distinguished citizens.The old Senate Chamber was crowded, as it had so often been to hear his voice. The handles, plate and trimmings of the rich casket were of silver, beautifully chased with a full-blown rose and wreaths of laurel and of oakthe acorns detached as if fallen from the stemAfter the services, the cortege left the Capitol. 152 The National Capitol

Assault upon Surnner.The assault upon Mr. Sumner, while here seated at his Senatorial desk,Iay 22, i86, was of a more serious nature and more to be regretted, than the quarrelhowever serious its aspectbetween Mr. Benton and Mr. Foote.A committee of investigation was appointed the next day, and on May 28th it reported the assault a breach of the privilege of the Senate, but held that the offense could be punished by the House of Representatives only, of which Mr. Brooks, the assaulting party, was a Mem- ber.Upon this report being sent to the House, that body appointed a select committee to investigate the case, to which the report of the committee of the Senate was referred May a9th.The House committee held the assault to be a breach of the privilege of the House, as a coordinate branch, and recommended expulsion. The resolution, however, failed of the necessary two-thirds vote, though on the same day, July 14, i86, Mr. Brooks announced his resignation.He was fined $300 by the court in Washington; but his reelection to Congress, from South Carolina, without opposition, followed immediately. The Senate committee in its investigation found that Senators Toombs, Pearce and Crittenden were seated in their respective chairs just preceding the affair.During the occurrence, Mr. Crittenden was observed near the parties, evidently striving to terminate the assault.Mr. Keitt also, a Member of the House from South Carolina, was seen to approach the parties, presumably with the same intention.In his testimony before the committee, Joseph H. Nicholson, an eye-witness, gave the following lucid account of

the unfortunate occurrence: -

"On Thursday last, the 22nd of May, instant, a few moments after the adjournment of the Senate, I retired, as usual, to my desk in one of the offices of the Secretary of the Senate.After the lapse of a brief period I returned to the Senate Chamber to request the assistant doorkeeper (Mr. Holland) to have a piece of money changed for me.After seeking the doorkeeper and communicating my wish to him, I was walking down the main aisle of the chamber, when I observed the Hon. Mr. Brooks, of South Carolina, sitting at the desk of Senator Pratt.I saluted him, 'How is Col. Brooks to-day?'He responded, '\Vell,I thank you,' and beckoning to me he added, 'Come here, Nicholson.'I advanced, and placing myself in Senator Bayard's chair, near which, on my right, Maj. Emory, of the United States Army, was standing, and with whom I had been conversing a few minutes before, Col. Brooks remarked to me in his usual tone of voice, and without the slightest show of inquietude, 'Do you see that lady in the lobby?'Turning round and observing a lady sitting on the lounge at a short distance from us, I said, 'Yes.'Col. B. said, 'She has been there for some time; what does she want?Can't you manage to get her out?'Thinking that Col. W was only indulging a momentary whim, I jocosely replied, 'No; that would be ungallant; besides, she is very pretty.'Col. B., turning round, and looking at the lady, said, 'Yes; she is pretty, but I wish she would go.'At this moment, the changed money was brought to me by one of the pages, and almost at the same moment Maj. Emory inquired, 'Who was that gentleman you were conversing with?'I had scarcely said 'Col. Brooks, of South Carolina, a very clever fellow,' when The National Capitol '53 observing Col. Brooks advancing in front of us, and towards, as though about to speak to, Senator Sumner, who was sitting at his desk apparently engaged in writing, or with papers before him, I cannot be positive which ;I voluntarily attempted to call Maj. Emory's attention to the fact, for I was much surprised to see a South Carolina Representative in the act of approaching to speak to Senator Sumner after the speech delivered by the latter the two previous days but one in the Senate.But before I could attract Maj. Emory's attention or express surprise, I saw Col. Brooks lean on and over the desk of Senator Sumner, and seemingly say something to him, and instantly, and while Senator Sumner was in the act of. rising, Col. Brooks struck him over the head with a dark-colored walking cane, which blow he repeated twice or three times, and with rapidity. "I think several blows had been inflicted before Senator Sumner was fully in possession of his locomotion, and extricated from his desk, which was thrown over or broken from its fastenings by the efforts of the Senator to extricate himself.As soon as Senator Sumner was freefrom the desk he moved down the narrow passageway under the impetuous drive of his adversary, with his hands uplifted as though to ward off the blows which were rained on his head with as much quickness as was possible for any man to use a cane on another whom he was intent on chastising.The scene occupied but a point of timeonly long enough to raise the arm and inflict some ten or twelve blows in the most rapid successionthe cane having been broken in several pieces.All the while Senator Sumner was holding his hands above his head, and turning and tottering, until he sank gradually on the floor near Senator Collamer's desk, in a bleeding and apparently exhausted condition.I did not hear one word, or murmur, or exclamation, from either party until the affair was over.Such was the suddenness of the affair, the rapidity of its execution, the position of persons in the chamber, and the relative positions of the chairs and desks, that, although several persons (myself among them) quickly advanced to the spot where the parties were engaged, it was not in the power of those present to have separated Col. Brooks, or to have rescued Senator Sumner, so as to have prevented the former from accomplishing his purpose.Such was the conclusion of my judgment at the moment of the occurrence, and such it is now." At the same investigation, Governor Brown of Mississippi testified that Mr. Brooks had in this way spoken to him of the affair:"Regarding the speech (of Mr. Sumner) as an atrocious libel on South Carolina and a gross insult to my absent relative (Judge Butler) I determined, when it was delivered, to punish him for it.To-day I approached him, after the Senate adjourned, and said to him, 'Mr. Sumner, I have read your speech carefully, and with as much ca'mness as I cou'd be expected to read such a speech. You have libeled my State and slandered my relation, who is aged and absent, and I feel it to be my duty to punish you for it'; and with that I struck him a blow across his head with my cane, and repeated it until I was satisfied. No one interposed, and I desisted simply because I had punished him to my satisfaction." Robing Room of the Justices anti Offices of the Clerk.The Clerk s offices are on the s est side of the mutt corridor, and open from the ' estibule, directl% before the Court room u hich contains Ionic columns similar to those within that chamber. The robing room, once the Vice-President's room o the north, '54 The National Capitol open to the public.The justices, headed by the Chief Justice, cross from it to the lobby which leads to the bench, a moment before twelve o'clock, when the Court convenes, and return after adjournment.At such times, all traffic in the hallway is stopped by messengers of the Court, who stretch crimson cords across the corridor.This portion of the corridor was formerly shut off by mahogany doors.The room thus formed was lighted by a window to the north and a large chandelier.It was reserved for the President when he came to the Capitol to sign bills or for other purposes. On the right and left of the anteroom, which is artificially lighted, because it has no windows, are cabinets with glass doors, in which hang the black silk gowns of the justices, together with combs and brushes, which, in some instances at least, the casual observer might respectfully submit are superfluous. The inner room is much larger and contains three windows, the one at the end of the room affording the same fine view of the city as the western portico of the central building.These windo-rs are draped with dark red cur tains lined in yellow.In the center of the south side of the room is a fire- place, whose mantle, though not large, is delicately cut from Italian marble. On it is a French clock, which was purchased during the war.The room contains two cases of books, to the right and left of the fire-place, for ready reference by the justices.These embrace the Slaitites at Lage, the Reports of the Szftrernc court of the United States, and a few other necessary books. A number of hair-cloth chairs attract attention for their oddity and rarity. They have been well described as "a cross between an ancient ottoman and the curule chair of a Roman Senator."By pushing them together, sofas may be formed. There are also several high-back judicial-looking chairs, and a large table for writing.This furniture is very old.The carpet in the room was placed there in October,1876. Above the mantle hangs a painting in oils, which is one of the most interesting in the building.It is by Gray, after Gilbert Stuart, of John Jay, the first Chief Justice.The robe in which he appears is black, except its large flowing sleeves, which from just below the shoulders are brick-dust red, trimmed above and below with narrow silver-gray braid.About the neck is worn a kind of stole, which falls low in front like an edge to the gown, giving the effect of a collar.It is said that this was the gown of the University of Dublin, which conferred the degree of Doctor of Laws upon Jay, together with Adams and Franklin, at the close of the peace negotia- tions with England; and that he adopted it when he became Chief Justice. There is a story also that the Chief Justice borrowed the gown of Chancellor Livingston to wear until the Court should decide upon its costume; but, if so, he never returned it to that worthy judge; for it reverted to the Jay family after remaining in the possession of the Court many years.The picture was presented by John Jay, ex-Minister to Austria. The National Capitol

JOHN JAY

To the right of this picture hangs an oil painting of Chief Justice Taney by Healey.It was executed when Taney was eighty-two years of age, nearly six years before his death.To the left of the fire-place hangs a corresponding picture in oils of Oliver Ellsworth, the third Chief Justice.It is charming for the rich, old-fashioned dress in which the artist represents theChief Justice, who is seated by a table with a scroll in his left hand.The figure was copied from an old family picture preserved at Windsor, Connecticut, representing the Chief Justice and Mrs. Ellsworth seated at a table by a window,through which the house can be seen.It was thought to be the best likeness ever The National Capitol painted of the Chief Justice.This copy was made by Elliott, a Hartford artist, for the Court after the original by R. Earle (1792). Opposite the fire-place hangs a large painting of the head and bust of Marshall by Rembrandt Peale, which is a worthy companion piece to his Washington, in the Vice-President's room.The artist has oddly framed the great Chief Justice on the canvas in a circular wall, at the top of which is represented a head of Solon, as if carved in stone; beneath the portrait is painted in large letters across the canvas: "Fiat justicia."The painting was presented to Chief Justice Chase by his legal admirers; and he bequeathed it, at the time of his death, to the Court. To the right and left of the entrance door, at the eastern end of th room, hang portraits respectively of Chase and Waite.The former was painted for Henry D. Cook by W. Cogswell, when Chase was Secretary of the Treasury, and the date," x868," on the front of the painting must have been incorrectly placed there at the time of its restoration after the World's Colurnbian Expo- sition, where most of these paintings were severely damaged.The portrait of Chief Justice Waite is by Cornelia Adele Fassett, and was purchased by order of the Joint Committee on the Library, soon after his death.It was painted in the robing room. Upon the west wall hangs a portrait of Chief Justice Rutledge, which is a copy of a copy, made by Robert Hinckley, a Washington artist.The original picture, which was owned by Captain John Rutledge, a grandson of the Chief Justice, is a miniature by Trumbull., This was copied for Mr. Justice Gray, and from it the present painting was made. Upon the side walls at this end of the room are other pictures, the most noticeable of which is a portrait of Marshall, painted by Martin in 1814. The Court was anxious to obtain this picture, which was in the possession of descendants in Virginia.When the matter came before the Joint Committee on the Library, Mr. Evarts championed its purchase.He stated that it had been brought to his attention by Chief Justice Fuller, who said that it had been pronounced a good likeness by Mrs. Marshall. A photograph also of Marshall, by Rice from St. Memim's charcoal sketch from life, commands attention, as well as an engraving of Coleridge, Lord Chief Justice of England, which that eminent judge and jurist sent to the Court in grateful memory of the honor conferred on him on the9th of October, 1883, when he was accorded a seat upon the bench of this highest American court during its session.The letter accompanying this gift, which hangs upon the opposite wall in a neat frame, requests the acceptance of the picture and its hanging upon the walls of some room occupied by the Court. THE SENATE WING

BEFORE the principal entrance to the Sen- ate Chamber runs east and west the main corridor of that wing. To the south of its easternarchway is a portraitof Washington by 1 GilbertStuart, and to the north, one of John Adams,copiedby Andrews from the same master for a MAIN CORRIDOR OF THE SENATE companionpic- ture, and bought by the government for ioin iS8s. A corresponding arch- way, upon the right and leftof which hang portraits, one of Thomas Jeffer- son by Thomas Sully and theother of Patrick Henry * by Matthews, connects this south corridor of the Senate with one on the west,which leads to the Italian marble staircase.This ascends to the galleries, from which visitors may view the proceedings of the Senate, except in case of executivesession, when the upper corridors and all doors to thechamber and galleries are strictly guarded. Statue of ilancock.At the foot of thisbeautiful staircase stands a marble statue of John Hancock, the first signer of theDeclaration of Inde- pendence. On the base are inscribed these words: " He wrotehis name where all nations should behold it, and all timeshould not efface it."They

* His speech in the House of Burgesses May 29, 1765. on the Stamp Act, helped to bring Virginia to the stand already taken by the New EnglandStates.In s-indicating his resolutions, objected to by Robinson, the Speaker, he said: "Casarhad his Brutus Charles the First, his Cromwelland George the Third(' Treason !Treason !' resounded from the neighborhood of the chair)mav profit by their exampfrr.Sir, if this be treason (bowing to chair), make the m'st of it!" i8 The National Capitol recall his signature on that immortal document, almost the only one which time has not nearly obliterated, and his alleged reply when asked why he wrote so boldly: "So that George III. can read itwithout putting on his glasses." Horatio Stone, the sculptor, received $5,500 for this work. Battle of Chapultepec.On the wall above the landing of the staircase is an historical painting by James Walker, which represents the battleof Chapultepec.This battle was fought on the i3th of September, 1847, the American troops being under the command of Generals Pillow and Quitman. The artist was present at the battle, and, no doubt, attempted to recordhis impressions accurately.The picture is one of the few, if not the only one, in the possession of the government which represents the uniform ofthe American soldier at that period.It is, however, inadequate in conception and execution to its position and surroundings, though it would, no doubt, appear to good advantage in some less conspicuousplace on the walls of the Capitol.The cost of the painting to the government has been $6,137.37. It was executed in rS6o and intended for the room of the Committee onMili- tary Affairs of the House. Secretary's Roorn.From the west corridor opens the suite of rooms which are set apart for the use of the Secretary of the Senate and his corpsof assistants.Here are filed all the records of the Senate, all papers and testimony relating to its legislation and all the originalMessages of the Presidents of the United States to that body. President's Room.At the west end of the private lobby,which is directly north of the Senate Chamber proper, is a room known asthe Presi- dent's room.This is, beyond doubt, the most beautifully decorated room in the Capitol.Whenever occasion requires the presence of the President of the United States at the Capitol, this room is solely for his use.Except during the administrations of Cleveland, it has been customary forthe Executive to visit the Capitol during the last days ofeach Congress to sign bills; and in this room many bills have become laws by the President's approval.It has been the scene of other incidents in their lives.On the evening of March 3, i865, Grant received a message from Lee askingfor a meeting and interchange of views looking to a submission of "the subjects of controversy between the belligerents to a convention.""General Grant, not being vested with any authority whatever to treat for peace," writesGeneral Horace Porter, "at once telegraphed the contentsof the communication to the Secretary of War, and asked for instructions.The dispatch was submitted to Mr. Lincoln at the Capitol, where he had gone, according to the usual custom at the closing hours of the session of Congress, in order to act promptly upon the bills presented to him.He consulted with the Secretaries of State and War, and then wrote with his own hand a reply, dated midnight, which was signed by Stanton, and forwarded to General Grant.It was The National Capitol 159

THE PRESIDENT'S ROOM received the morning of the 4th, and read as follows: 'The President directs me to say to you that he wishes you to have no conference with General Lee, unless it be for the capitulation of General Lee's army, or on some minor and purely military matter.He instructs me to say that you are not to decide, discuss, or confer upon any political question.Such questions the President holds in his own hands, and will submit them to no military conferences or con- ventions.Meantime von are to press tothe utmost yourmilitaryadvantages.'" When the Senate is not in session and the room is not occupied by the President, it is open to public view.The rich decorations are the work of Brumidi.In the northeast corner of the ceiling is a picture of William Brew- ter, Elder of Plymouth Colony; in the southeast corner, one of Christopher Columbus; and in the southwest corner, one of Benjamin Franklin.The remaining figure is of Americus Vespucius.Four groups also beautify the ceiling.To the north is Religion; to the east, Executive Authority; to the south, Liberty; and to the west, Legislation.All these are in fresco.On the upper portion of the south wall is noticeable a portrait of Washington in i6o The National Capitol oils, which was painted from Rembrandt Peale's celebrated picture, masks and other sources.Around the room are portraits in oils of the first Cabinet, Jefferson, Hamilton, Knox, Randolph and Osgood.The rich furniture of the room is upholstered in red leather;and in one corner stands a handsome "grandfather's clock" of mahogany, purchased in 1887. Reception of Icing Kalakaiia.On Friday, December i8, 5874, Mr. Cameron announced to the Senate that King Kalakana was in the President's room, and that the committee charged with hisreception would suggest that the Senators call upon him. A recess was accordingly taken until one o'clock, and the Senators proceeded in a body to be individually presented to his majesty. At noon they all marched to the hall of the House, where the reception proper was held.The galleries were crowded, and many ladies were admitted to the floor.Seats to the right of the Speaker's chair were assigned to the Senators, who were received by the Members standing.Gen- eral Sherman was conspicuous upon the floor.The king was escorted by Mr. Cameron, chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, and by Mr. Orth, chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs; his suite by other members of the committee of arrangements.The entire party were in citizen's dress.When his majesty had reached the space in front of the Speaker's desk, Mr. Cameron introduced him as follows: "Mr. Speaker, I have the honor to present to you his majesty, the King of Hawaii."Mr. Speaker Blame, with Vice-President Wilson standing on his right, then addressed the king in a speech of welcome.His majesty's reply was read by one of his attendants, Chancellor Allen, after the formality of a conference and the announcement that the king was suffering from a cold and hoarseness. Fol- lowing this the Speaker descended from his place and was introduced to Kalakaua, with whom he exchanged courtesies.The former then resumed the chair; and his majesty retired as he had entered, followed by his suite and the assembled Senators. The Marble Rooni.The marble room is directly east of the Presi- dent's room, and also opens upon the private lobby of the Senate.This room is built almost entirely of marble; the ceiling, pilasters and four fluted Co. rinthian columns of veined Italian marble, the walls and wainscoting of native dark-brown marble from Tennessee.It is used by the Senators as a private reception room.Persons who desire to see a Senator during a session, must first send their cards to him from the public reception room, which is on the east side of the chamber, and if the Senator grants an interview, the visitors are conducted to the marble room to await his coming. Vice-President's Room.The private office of the Vice-President, which is known as the Vice-President's room, is directly east of the marble room Its not ordinarih open to the public Upon its eastern wall hangs a poLiLait which is probably the best of Washington in the possession of The National Capitol the government.1t was painted by Rembrandt Peale, the son of Charles Wilison Peale.The studies were made when the former was but eighteen years of age.Washington sat on three occasions out of respect for the artist's father. The young painter, however, seems to have been more agitated than inspired by the honor.His original sketch has been lost, though the present painting, which was executed in s 828, long after \Vashing- ton's death, preserves its best remembered points.The artist always worked with Houdon's bust before him.The painting was much admired, both in the United States and in the principal cities of Europe, where it was exhibited in 1829.In 1832, the Senate, by a unanimous resolution, appro- priated2,OOO for its purchase.Chief Justice Marshall spoke of it as "more Washington himself than any portrait I have ever seen"; Judge Peters gave it a better testimonial, "I judge from its effect on myheart." Upon the mantle is a French gilt clock of exquisite workmanship, which was purchased during the administration of Polkand Dallas.The book- case on the western side of the room dates from thetime of Buchanan.In a small closet in the southeast corner ofthe room hangs an antique gilt mirror, which tradition says was purchased by John Adams, the first Vice- President of the United States, when the seat of government was in New York city.If this be true, the glass, no doubt, has many times reflected the features of the immortal Washington. Two brackets upon the eastern wall hold busts of Henry Wilson by Daniel C. French (1885) and of Lafayette Foster by C. Caverley (1878), former Vice-Presidents of the United States. In this room one Vice-President passed away and another received the oath of office as President.Here Henry Wilson died; here on the 22d of Septem- ber, j88i, in the presence of General Grant and of a few of thejustices of the Supreme Court, Garfield's Cabinet, the Senators and Representatives, the oath of office was administered to Chester A. Arthur by Chief Justice Waite.The inaugural was very short.Two days earlier, Arthur had taken the same oath at his residence, No. 123 Lexington Avenue, NewYork, at two o'clock A.M., in the presence of John R. Brady, a justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York. Henry Wilson suffered a congestive chill November ro, 1875, while taking a bath in the Senate bathroom,and was carried immediately to the Vice- President's room.Twelve days later, at twenty minutes after seven in the morning, he passed away. He had awakened at seven seemingly refreshed and hopeful.In a few minutes, however, there was a change.His breath came shorter and shorter, his head fell back on thepillow,a momentand he was gone.While thoughtfully musing during his last minutes upon his election to the Vice Pre1denc), he unconsciousl uttered his d%irg uords "If I live to the close of my present term there will be only five who have served their country so long as I.""The room this morning," records the 162 The National Capitol

S/ar, "was in a state of great confusion, showing the lack of female nursing and attention.At the head of his bed on the right was a small desk on which were numerous bottles of medicine, glasses and other articles.On the left and between the bed and the closet was an easy chair and an ordinary arm chair on which were lying some of his clothing.At the foot of the bed was a large screen used to protect the Vice-President from the draft from the door or window, or if desired from the heat of the grate.On a table in the centre of the room were a few books and some cards of callers of yesterday. Several letters, some opened and some unopened, were lying on the table and a letter partly finished was among them." A post-mortem examination, most horrible in its details to the eyes and ears of the uninitiated, found the cause of death to be apoplexy.At ten o'clock on the morning of the 25th, the casket was placed in state in the rotunda. 'Marines in full uniform composed the guard of honor; the one at the head and the one at the foot at "parade rest," as motionless as statues. Strangely enough, much disrespect to the departed was evinced and permitted. The National Republican says: "Men stood about the rotunda with hats on, smoking cigars and pipes; nurses occupied the seats, while their charges played hide-and-seek among the crowd, and several parties of women went so far as to spread out the lunch they had brought with them and eat it within sight of the remains.All this was most unseemly and should have been prevented by the police, but was allowed to pass unnoticed.It was estimated that fully twenty-five thousand persons viewed the remains." On the morning of the 26th, the casket was lifted by soldiers detailed from the Ordnance Corps of the army, and borne to the Senate Chamber. President Grant, his Cabinet and a distinguished gathering were present.At ten-thirty o'clock Mr. Ferry, President of the Senate, arose and said: "Appro- priate funeral services will now be held."Chaplain Byron Sunderland then read selections from Scripture, after which Rev. Dr. Rankin delivered a dis- course.The Chaplain offered prayer and the services closed with the bene- diction.As each delegation was called by the Sergeant-at-Arms, it passed quietly out of the hall and took the place assigned to it in the procession. The remains left the city at the Baltimore and Potomac depot, where six years later Garfield was shot. Public Reception Rooni.The public reception room before the eastern entrance to the Senate lobby owes much of its beauty to exquisite mural decorations in fresco by Brumidi, though the artist, because of other assignments of work, was never permitted to finish all the panels. On the northern portion of the ceiling are four groups representing Peace, Freedom, War and AgricultureTo the south, the center piece also is beautifully fres coed. In the four corners of the room are depicted the cardinal virtues, Prudence, Justice, Temperance and Fortitude On the south iall is another The National Capitol 163 interesting group, George WTashington in consultation with twomembers of his Cabinet, Alexander Hamilton, first Secretary of the Treasury, andThomas Jeffer- son, first Secretary of State.Northeast of the reception room, in the corner of the wing, is the room of the Sergeant-at-Arms of the Senate.On the wall hangs a full-length portrait (1875) of Joseph Henry by Henry Ulke, aWashington artist. Here also are traces of Brumidi's brush.To the east, a maiden, sadly breaking a bundle of fasces, indicates thedissolution of the Union. To the south is War. To the west, a maiden is cheerfully binding the bundle of fasces,each rod again in its place.To the north is Prosperity.The group in the center of the ceiling personifies the loving welcome of the erring daughter backinto the fold.

PUBLIC RECEPTION ROOM 164 The National Capitol

The hallway which forms the eastern approach to the Senate Chamber is rightfully much admired. It contains sixteen fluted columns ofItalian marble, supporting a ceiling of the same costly material.The capitals of these columns might be styled Americanized-Corinthian, as the classic acanthus is gracefully surmounted by the native corn and tobacco leaves.It is said that while the columns were being carved, Jefferson Davis, Secretary of War, suggested the innovation as more representative of American products. The side walls, which are of plaster decorated in imitation of Sienna marble, are enriched by pilasters similar to the columnsin material and design. They contain niches, which, no doubt, at some future time, will be filled with busts of the ex-Vice-Presidents whose memories are not already commemorated in other niches in the walls of the Senate wing. Senate Bronze Doors.At the entrance to this hallway from the eastern portico of the wing are bronze doors designedby Crawford, which are said to be the first work of the character cast in this country,at Chicopee, Massachusetts, by James T. Ames, in i868.The plaster models were executed in Rome by William H. Rinehart.The designs of the panels relate to events in the Revolutionary war and the life of General Washington. There are three panels and a medallion on each door.The top panel on the north door represents the death of General Warren at the battle of Bunker Hill.Below it is the rebuke of General Charles Lee by General Washington at the battle of Monmouth, New Jersey.The lowest panel depicts the storming of the redoubt at Yorktown by Alexander Hamilton. The medallion at the bottom shows a conflict between a Hessian soldier and a New Jersey farmer. The corresponding medallion on the south leaf of the doors represents Peace and Agriculture. Above this is General Washington passing beneath an arch of flowers at Trenton, New Jersey, while on his way to New York city to be inaugurated first President of the United States.The middle panel represents Washington taking the oath of office, administered by Chancellor Liv- ingston.As the Supreme Court of the United States was not organized until September of the same year, the Chief Justice could not officiate; and this established the precedent whereby a President-elect can be sworn into office, in case of necessity, by another than the chief of that Court.The top panel shows the laying of the original corner-stone of the Capitol by Washington, with Masonic rites, on the i8th of September,1793.The weight of these doors is 14,000 pounds.Their total cost has been $56,495.11, more than double the cost of the Rogers doors with which they are in no way com- parable.Of this sum, $6,000 went to Crawford, the artist; the balance for the casting, materials, etc Aboie the doors, in the portico, is a high relief in marble, representing two reclining female figures.This was executed in Italy from designs of Crawford, for ihich he received ,000 The figure to the right isith the SENATE BRONZE DOORS The National Capitol 167

FORMER DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA COMMITTEE ROOM scales is Justice; upon her book is inscribed "Justice Law Order." Upon the scroll held by the figure to the left is written " History July 1776." Committee on the District of Coliinibia.The door to the north within the entrance leads to the abode of the Committee on the District of Columbia.To bespeak the beauty of this District room, it is necessary only to say that it was decorated by Brumidi's brush.Four groups in fresco symbolize History, Physics, Geography and the Telegraph. Statue of Franklin.The entrance hallway connects with acorridor, from which ascends a grand staircase built entirely of Tennessee marble. At its foot is a well-conceived though passive statue of Benjamin Franklin by Hiram Powers, whose "Greek Slave" has given him world-wide fame. Ten thousand dollars were paid for the statue The simplicity of the dress worn by the RLvolutionarv diplomat recalls the amusing debate, on March 25, tS6, in the House of Representatives upon costumes to be worn by personsin the diplomatic service of the United States, and the amendment offered by Mr. i68 The National Capitol

Noell: "The uniform prescribed by this act shall be as follows: cocked hat looped up with the American eagle; swallow-tail coat with the stars and stripes upon the tail, and the words marked in worsted 'Protective Tariff'; but- ternut pantaloons, closely fitting; yellow stockings with garters a Ia Franklin; round toed shoes of the latest Lowell fashions; buckskin vest, one side black and the other white, indicative of no distinction on account of color; pinch- beck breastpin with inscription, 'Economy is wealth.' Battle of Lake Erie.On the wall above the landing of the staircase is the celebrated picture by W. H. Powell, known as the Battle of Lake Erie, fought at Put-In Bay on the ioth of September, 1813, during our second war with Great Britain.It represents Oliver Hazard Perry in the midst of the battle as he leaves the disabled flag-ship Lawrence, in the foreground, to transfcr his battle-flag to the Niagara, upon the right, in order to renew the fight. Through lack of wind, the Lawrence had been compelled alone to engage almost the entire British fleet, especially the Detroit and Queen Charlotte, and had quickly become disabled under the tremendous fireto which she was exposed.As a daring resort, Perry hauled down his Union Jack, having for its motto the dying words of the beloved Lawrence, "Don't give up the ship," and taking it over his arm, ordered a boat made ready.The Eng- lish Commodore, anticipating a surrender, signalled his men to cease firing. But when he saw Perry emerging from the smoke, standing boldly erect among his oarsmen and heading fearlessly for the Niagara, Barclay divined his object and ordered the fire of the fleet to be centered upon the little craft. Perry miraculously made the passage in safetyoccupying a period of some minutesin the very teeth of the broadsides and small arms turned upon him, hoisted his flag at the masthead of the Niagara, renewed the fight, and cap- tured the English fleet. This is the only instance in her history when England lost an entire fleet, and it surrendered to a man of twenty-seven.It was on this occasion that Perry sent the celebrated dispatch to the general in command of the American Army of the Northwest, William Henry Harrison:

U. S. BRIG IVI4CARA, September joth, 1813 4 P.M. Dear General: We have met the enemy and they are ours: two Ships, two Brigs, one Schooner and one Sloop.Yours, with great respect and esteem, 0. H. PRRRY.

Powell, in painting the picture, selected for some of his models men employed in various capacities about the Capitol.The face of the sailor with his head bound and blood streaming from it is that of Captain John Decker, for many years "boss rigger" of the buildingThe chief interest n the picture arises from its drunatic qualities As a marine painting it is The National Capitol 169 not great.The perspective of the ships in the background is unmistakably bad.The whole picture gives the effect of a toy battle.The men in the boat,- instead of being begrimed with smoke and oil and powder, arefresh as if on dress parade.The coloring, too, is unnatural.Yet, in spite of many technical incongruities and undoubted weakness in artistic expression,the picture has a charm which holds the attention as fixed as any whichhangs upon the walls of the Capitol.This charm lies in the romance which encir- cles Perry's name as the " Hero of Lake Erie," and in the sympathyawakened by the tender bit of pathos admirably portrayed by the artistin the boy- brother* tugging at the Commodore's sleeve.There is one bit of painting in

BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE the picture of the highest order of excellence: it is the flag whichfloats from the small boat.That flag really feels the battle breeze.The sum of25,000 was appropriated by Congress forthe work. Recall of Colunsbus.On the wall above and oppositethe Battle of Lake Erie hangs a painting which commands the admirationof artists.Its title is the Recall of Columbus.This picture is by A. G. Heaton of Wash- ington, D. C., and was bought by the government in 1884for $3,000.It was completed in Paris from studiesmade at the scene of the event, near Granada, Spain, and represents the turning point in the career of the great J Alexander Pen-v. warranted iSticommissioned as Lieutenant April I, 1S22 drowned in an attempt to save a sinking officer.At the time of the battle he was a second Aid to the Commodore. being then thirteenyears old.Another brother. Matthew Calbraith Perry, organized and commanded the expedition to Japan:delivered the Presi- dent's letter of July q, 1S33and on the 31St of March, zS, signed the treaty of peace. 170 The National Capitol discoverer. As narrated by Washington Irving, Columbus, atnearly sixty years of age, made his last appeal for aid toFerdinand and Isabella, then in their camp at Santa Fe; and being refused, started, discouragedbut not defeated, to seek help from the sovereign of France.After his departure, Isabella was urged by Columbus' friends to reconsider his causein the inter est of religious propagation as well as ofnational glory and aggrandizement. Her zealous spirit yielded at last to their eloquence;and, determined, if necessary, to sacrifice her jewels,she dispatched a messenger in haste after Columbus, who was overtaken in his journey at the bridgeof Pinos, midway between Santa Fe and Granada.The picture represents this eventful moment

RECALL OF COLUMBUS

in Columbus' life.With halted mule, he receives the communication of the shrewdly courteous messenger, who has dismounted from one of the spirited blue-black steeds of Andalusia.The disappointments of years yield to the sweet whispers of renewed hope; yet the lessons of experience and an in- born dignity still control his countenance.He raises his cap not more in exultation than in courtly salute to the royal messenger. A mounted companion is less reserved in his curiosity; and a muleteer, half Suspicious of an interrupted journey, restrains one of the pack of mules he is leading, while mechanically covering a pannier, suggestive of the discoverer's mission. At the roadside, an old gipsy gazes stoically upon the scene, while a little child by him shrinks closer in fear of the restive horse of the messenger. Iticlaimed for the artist that in his work he has devoted the utmost study to details.The face of Columbus is the result of a close comparison of one actual, and many reputed, likenesses in painting and engraving at The National Capitol '7'

Madrid, and in sculpture and mosaic at Genoa, Columbus' birthplace, with regard also to the descriptive verses of a contemporary Spanish poet.The mule studies were made in Spain and from animals in the stables of the ex-queen of Spain, in Paris.The costumes and trappings are characteristic of the country and epoch, and the landscape suggests the mild winter day of southern Spain. Moran Paintings, etc.On the north and south walls of the lobby east of the central eastern gallery of the Senate Chamber are two famous landscapes by Thomas Moran, known as the Grand Cañon of the Yellowstone and the Chasm of the Colorado.These pictures, purchased for $10,000 each, were painted from sketches made by the artist in the field, and do not over- elaborate in color the magnificence of the scenes which they portray.The poetry of the clouds, the poetry of the rocks, the poetry of the torrents and the poetry of the canons are naturally told.The theme of the pictures is Nature in her grandest form, and the wonder is that the brush could realize it at all.It is interesting to seek the grizzly bear in the picture of the Yellowstone. Portraits of Daniel Webster and Henry Clay adorn the western wall. These are by the portrait painter, H. F. Darby.The three marble busts are of Charles Sumner, by Martin Milmore; of Garibaldi, the Italian apostle of freedom, by Martequana; and of an Indian chief.A portrait of John C. Calhoun, also by Darby, hangs high upon the eastern wall. Electoral Cornrnission.On the eastern wall of the lobby of the Senate gallery, above the reception room, is an interesting picture by Cornelia Adele Fassett, painted from life in 1877-78.It represents one of the most important scenes in the history of the United Statesthe presentation of the Florida Case before the Electoral Commission on February,1877, in the present Supreme Court chamber.William M. Evarts of New York is addressing the Commission on behalf of Rutherford B. Hayes, the Republican candidate for President. The Commission consisted of five members of the Supreme Court of the United States, four of whom were appointed by the President and the fifth chosen by these four; of five members of theSenate, elected by that body; and of five members of the House, similarly chosen.The eyes of all the people of the nation were upon these fifteen men.They were to deter- mine the validity of the electoral votes from Florida, Louisiana, Oregon and South Carolina, from which States two distinct sets of returns had been received by the President of the Senate.On their decision hung the question whether Hayes or Tilden should be President of the United States. Though the honesty of the Commission has never been doubted except in the heat of partisan expression, it is interesting to note that no one, even of the fi%e justices of the Supreme Court, oted otherwise than according to his 172 The National Capitol

7. ;:-I5,--

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4- /_ --El life-long political convictions; and a member of the present bench has been heard to tell with great unction how a much respected judge, who sat on the Commission and who never had a dishonest thought in his- life, remarked seriously to a brother justice that the members of the party to which he did not belong had voted according to their partisan convictionsseemingly totally unconscious at the time of the fact that the members of his own party had been equally true to their party affiliations. woIsswwo, ivlO.LDfl The National Capitol '75

1'he picture cost the government $7,500,and will continue to grow more and more valuable because of theadmirable collection of portraitswhich it contains. The First Fight of Ironclads.Oflthe opposite wall hangs a naval painting of the battle between the.2fonitor and the jlferrimac, thatmarvel of history which took place inHampton Roads, March 9, 1862.The inter- artist, W. F. Halsall, who received$7,500 for the work, is said to have viewed in person or by letter some fivehundred eye-witnesses of the fight; and, consequently, this is probablythe most perfect representationof the famous meeting of the ironclads inexistence.The Virginia, as she was rated in the Confederate navy, it willbe remembered, was the oldUnited Navy Yard States sloop-of-war .ilferrirnac,which had been sunk at the Norfolk during the early part of the war.She had been raised by theConfederates, position and plated with railroad rails.These were placed in a slanting according to the designs of LieutenantJohn M. Brooke of the Confederate navy, so that a ball orsolid shot striking above the waterline would be de- Her superiority over the ordinaryUnited States sloops-of-war and flected. Inferior as she frigates was demonstrated onher first day's engagement. could then have proved to be to the Northerninvention, the .iferrimac alone mastered any fleet afloat, foreign orAmerican. "Having sunk the Cumberland,"writesS.S. Cox, " theVirginia with the gun-boats turns upon the Congress,which is already hotly engaged The commanding officer of theCongress has attendant on the ironclad. and witnessed the fate of the Cumberland.He heads for shoal water - The Virginia now selects araking position astern of theCon- grounds constant fire on her star- gress, while oneof the smaller steamers pours in a Two other steamers of the enemyapproach from the James board quarter. and severe effect. River, also firing upon theunfortunate frigate with precision almost entirely disabled,and her gallant The guns of the Congress are his commanding officer, young LieutenantJoseph B. Smith, has fallen at with the dead and the dying, theship is on fire in post. Her decks are strewn In several places, and not a gun canbe brought to bear upon theassailants. and with no effectual relief athand, the senior surviving this state of things useless destruc- officer, Lieutenant Pendergrast,feels it his duty to save further This is done about four o'clock, tion of life by haulingdown his colors. burn until about eight inthe evening, .i. The Congress continues to When word comes to theNavy Department that the then she blows up. Commodore Smith imme- Congress hauled down hercolors, the brave old His boy went down with diately says in deepemotion: 'Then Joe is dead.' the ship "Yankee cheese-box on a raft," asit was contemp- The ATonilor or John Ericsson though tuously called by theConfederates, was designed by 176 The National Capitol

Timby, an American boy of nineteen, had twenty years before invented the revolving turret.She had arrived from New York during the night following the battle, and when, on Sunday morning, the Jferrinzac renewed the attack on the steam frigate ilfinnesota, appeared from behind that vessel, and from her turret began a furious cannonade.The late Rear-Admiral John Lorimer Worden, who was commanding in the pilot-house, was stunned and partially blinded during the engagement.The picture represents the Merrimac in the act of attempting to run down the smaller vessel.Disabled from the cannonade and the futile attempt to ram the Monitor, Lieutenant-Commander Jones is compelled to retreat to the shelter of the batteries at Sewell's Point. In the following May, the Merrirnac was blown up by the Confederates to prevent her falling into the bands of the Yankees; in December, the Monitor was lost off Cape Hatteras. This historical picture is undoubtedly worthy of the place it holds on the walls of the Capitol, and of the attention it receives from the visiting public. It is noticeable as the only painting in the Capitol of a scene in the late Rebellion; and even it to-day awakens rather a spirit of national pride that the naval warfare of the world was revolutionized by the American inventive genius, here displayed, than any narrow feeling-of sectionalism. Portraits of Lincoln, Garfield, Sumner am! Dix.To the right and left of the picture of the Electoral Commission hang two remarkable mosaics, of Abraham Lincoln and James A. Garfield.They were made by Salviati, of Florence, Italy, and by him presented to the government after the deaths of its two martyred Presidents.On the walls of this room hang also portraits by Ingalls and Morrell, respectively, of Charles Sumner, Senator from Massachusetts, and of John Adams Dix of New York, who, when Sec- retary of the Treasury, on January29,i86r, wrote the famous words: "If any one attempts to haul down the American flag, shoot him on the spot." Senate Document Rooms.Opening off the southern corridor of the gallery floor is a crowded, littered and irregular suite of rooms known as the Senate document rooms.These lie in the upper story of the annex as well as that of the old north wing.They are connected with the main hallway below by a winding staircase in the rear, by which only access can be secured during the executive sessions of the Senate.Amzi Smith is in charge.He has acquired such a wonderful knowledge of the legislation of Congress, and has become of such invaluable service, that his own name is incorporated by Congress in each appropriation act, so that no other person can be appointed in his place. - - - Senate Cliamber.An excellent view of the Senate Chamber is to be had from any one of its galleries, the seating capacity of which is 690 persons The chamber is rectangular in shape, being i ifeetinches in length, 8o feetinches in width and 36 feet in height.The hall and its adjoining The National Capitol 177

SENATE CHAMBER private lobbies are richly furnished.The Vice-President of the United States, who, as part of his Constitutional duties, presides over the Senate, occupies the chair upon the rostrum in the center to the north.On his right sits the Sergeant-at-Arms; on his left, the Doorkeeper.The long table before the chair is for the use of the Secretary of the Senate, the reading clerks, the chief clerk and the journal clerk.The small mahogany tables in front of the Secretary's table are devoted to the official stenographers, who report all debates and other proceedings, otherwise than during executive sessions, that take place upon the floor of the Senate.The center aisle customarily divides the seats occupied by the two great political parties.On the right of the presiding officer sit the Democrats; upon his left, the Repiblicans.Third- party men usually sit upon the side of the chamber where their affiliations have theretofore been. The Senators' desks all conform to the same general model !2 178 The National Capitol in appearance, though many of them are very old, having been brought from the former chamber. Decorations.The glass ceiling of this chamber is adorned with symbol- isms of War, Peace, Union and Progress, and of the arts, sciences and industries.The panels are buff-colored, and the walls themselves decorated with gold arabesques on delicate tints.The portrait of George Washington by R. Peale of New York was originally purchased for the Senate Chamber, according to the resolution of July 2, 1832, as reported by Mr. Frelinghuy- sen.The taste of the modern Senate, however, excludes all such decorations; for on the j5th of February, 1884, upon the motion of Mr. Cockrell, it was unanimously resolved "that no paintings or portraits be placed upon the walls of the Senate Chamber."The set of marble busts of the ex-Vice-Presidents, authorized on May13,i886, in amending a resolution introduced by Mr. Ingalls of Kansas, to be placed from time to time in the vacant niches of the Senate wing by the Architect of the Capitol, subject to the advice and approval of the Senate Committee on the Library, is still incomplete. Notable Events.The Vice-President-elect takes the oath of office, customarily administered by the Vice-President, just preceding the inauguration of the President.This ceremony takes place in the Senate Chamber, over which he is to preside, in the presence of the President, President-elect, Senate and House.The Presidential party then proceed to the platform, prepared to the east of the Capitol, for the inaugural exercises.In this chamber also, all treaties made by the United States with foreign powers are ratified, and nominations for appointments made by the President confirmed.Here, near the close of the Rebellion and during the reconstruction period, the Senate hotly debated the r3th, r4th and 15th Amendments of the Constitution, before they were submitted by Congress to the Legislatures of the States. Baker's Speech.In this Senate Chamber, Edward Dickinson Baker, the Senator-soldier from Oregon, delivered the brilliant speech which proved to be his last utterance upon the floor of Congress."With a zeal that never tired," writes Mr. Sumner of his brother Senator, " after recruiting men drawn by the attraction of his name, in New York and Philadelphia and elsewhere, he held his brigade [known as the California Regiment] in camp, near the Capitol, so that he passed easily from one to the other, and thus alternated the duties of a Senator and a General." On the afternoon of August r, tS6t, ten days after the first battle of Bull Run, Mr. Baker had entered in the full uniform of a colonel of the United States army, and with his sword laid. across his desk was listening to the debate, when John C Breckenridge, still in the Senate, took the floor and began to speak with the poignancy of which he was master against the Insurrection and Sedition billThe soldier s eyes flashed fire as he heard the words of the brilliant Kentuckian, and upon the The National Capitol '79 completion of the speech, his voice rang out in answer and denunciation. "What would have been thought," he said, "if, in another Capitol, in a yet more martial age, a senator, with the Roman purpleflowing from his shoulders, had risen in his place, surrounded by all the illustrations of Roman glory, and declared that advancing Hannibal was just, and that Carthage should be dealt with on terms of pcace? What would have been thought,if, after the battle of Canna, a senator had denounced every levy ofthe Roman people, every expenditure of its treasure, every appeal tothe old recollections and the old glories ?"Mr. Fessenden, sitting by Mr Baker, broke out in an audible undertone: "He would have beenhurled from the Tarpeian Rock!"This incited the orator to more powerful utterance."Are not the speeches of the Senator from Kentucky intended for disorganization? are they not intended to destroy our zeal ? are they notintended to animate our enemies ?Sir, are they not words of brilliant, polished treason, even in the very Capitol of the Republic ?" The handsome face, the gallant figure, the rich uniform, the earnestness of the impromptu reply and the fact that the smoke of the gunsof war was still in the air, all combined to inspire the orator with a patrioticeloquence which makes the occasion remembered to-day as one of the mostdramatic and effective in modern times.Within three months, while gallantly leading a charge at Ball's Blufr, the orator's voice was stilled forever. Impeachment of Andrew Johnson. Here occurred the mostfamous impeachment trial in the history of the American Republic.On February 21, i868, Mr. Covode ofPennsylvania moved the following resolution in the House of Representatives: "Resolved, ThatAndrew Johnson, President of the United States, be impeached ofhigh crimes and misdemeanors." It was carried by an almost strictly party voteof sz6 to 47.On theth of March, the Senate was organized as a court of impeachment,and Salmon P. Chase took the chair in accordance with theConstitutional provision that "When the President of the United States is triedthe Chief Justice shall preside."The court was formally opened for the great trial on the z3th, but fortunately one black, page inAmerican history need not be written; for the final vote on the 26th of Mayresulted in 35 for conviction and ifor acquittal.As a two-thirds vote is required by the Constitution to convict in such cases, the President was acquitted by one vote.His counsel were Henry Stanbery, BenjaminR. Curtis, Thomas A R. Nelson, Jeremiah S. Black and William M. Evarts. Impeachment of Belknap.On Tuesday, April 4, x876,in the administration of President Grant, the managers ofthe impeachment on the part of the House of Representatl% esappeared at the bar of the Senate, and after the proper introductory ceremony,Mr. Manager Lord read the "Articles exhtbited by the House of Representatnes ofthe Unsted States of Amenca x8o The National Capitol against William W. Belknap, late Secretary of War, in maintenance and support of their impeachment against him for high crimes and misdemeanors while in said office."Belknap was charged with having received a large sum of money for appointing John S. Evans to maintain a trading establishment at Fort Sill, a military post. The questions of law raised during the long trial were most interesting, and bespeak the ability and adroitness of defendant's counsel, J. S. Black, Montgomery Blair and Matthew H. Carpenter.As Belknap had resigned his commission as Secretary of War, and at the time of impeachment was a private citizen of the United States and of the State of Iowa,it was claimed on his behalf that he was not liable to impeachment, and that the Senate was without jurisdiction.The trial was not determined until Tuesday, August ist, when a vote was taken on each article sepa rately.No oneoftheimpeach- ment charges being sustained by a two-thirds vote of the Senators, the respondent was acquitted.A sup- 1/ posed sub-strata of socialIntrigue sharpened the public interest in this case. Eulogies.-As intheHouse, days are set apart iii the Senate for eulogies to be pronounced upon distinguished dead.In some cases the honor has been much more marked. The remains of Chief Justice Chase, on May II, 1873, were sadly borne through the Rogers bronze doors, draped in black, and the casket immediately taken to the Supreme Court chamber and placed upon the Lincoln bier, the head towards the chair lately occupied by the departed.The casket was not open to the public.This chamber, however, was thought too small for the exercises, and the remains were affectionately borne by the old colored servants of the Court into the more spacious hall of the Senate. The officiating clergy, led by Rev. Dr. Tiffany, pastor of the Metropolitan M. E. Church, entered in advance.All wore black crape sashes.The audience respecully arose as the procession entered. Dr. Tiffany began the funeral services while the casket was being placed before the Vice-President's desk.President Grant and his Cabinet entered through the central doors, the The National Capitol i8i

Executive occupying the end seat on the aisle to the left of the chair.The Cabinet sat upon his right.The pall-bearers took seats upon the right of the Vice-President.Behind them sat Senator and Mrs. Sprague. The Congressional funeral ceremonies in honor of Charles Sumner were held in this room at noon, March 13, 1874.The remains were brought thither from the rotunda, where they had rested in state from anearly morning hour open to the view of the hosts of friends of thebeloved Massachusetts Senator."Since the inauguration of Grant," said the Star, "there has been no event which has drawn to theCapitol such a vast assembly of spectators." The pall-bearers were Senators Anthony, Schurz, Sargeant,Oglesby, Stockton and McCreery. Charles Wilison Peale's Wasliington.Atthe head of the western staircase leading to the Senate galleries is afull-length painting of George Washington. On it we read: "C. W. Peale, pinx IPhiladelphia 1779." It was commenced in 1778, when Washington wasforty-six years of age, while the army lay starving in their frozen camp atValley Forge, but was not finished until after the battles of Trenton, Princeton andMonmouth.At the last place, Washington suggested to the artist, himself acaptain of volunteers in the Revolution, that he would find a good backgroundfor the picture in the view from the window of the farm-house where they werethen sitting.Peale accordingly added Monmouth Court House and a partyof Hessians leaving it under guard of the American troops.Old Nassau College at Princeton, where the picture was finished, also appears. This painting was ordered by a resolution of theContinental Congress. That body adjourned, however, without makingthe appropriation for its purchase. A replica is-as executed, under a commissionfrom lafayette, for Louis XVI., which is now at Versailles.The original painting in the Capitol also was sent to France, whereit seems to have been sold at public sale, but not for the benefit of the artist.It became the property of Count de Menou, perhaps under the delusion that it wasthe court picture.He brought it to America when he was chargi d'affaires at Washington,and placed it in the National Institute.When that association dissolved, the painting, with the other treasures then deposited in the PatentOffice, found a home in the Smith- sonian Institution.In 1876, it was temporarily hung in thePhiladelphia Academy of Fine Arts, and, later, in the CorcoranArt Gallery.The Peale family were always tenacious of their claim ofownership; and, as the Regents of the Smithsonian could find no record tothe contrary, the picture was conceded to have been left with the NationalInstitute by Count de Menou merely for safe keeping.The Joint Committee on the Library, finally being convinced of its authenticity and of title in theheirs of Peale, purchased it in i88z of Titian Ramsay Peale, sonof the artist and assignee of the estate of Charles B. Calvert, for $5,000. GROUND FLOOR

Senate Wing.East and west marble stairways lead from the main floor of the Senate wing to the ground floor. There are also two elevators, and two private stairways, whose railings are artistically wrought in bronze. The post- office of the Senate is now situated in the northeast corner.Over the entrance to this room, which was formerly occupied by the Committee on Patents, is pictured Robert Fulton upon a balcony overlooking the Hudson; in the distance is his pioneer steamboat, the Clermoni, and beyond are the Palisades. The Senate restaurant occupies the space east of the main corridor of the Capitol, between the eastern and middle corridors of the wing.Both the Senate and House restaurants are open to the public, as well as to Senators and Members. Decoration of the Corridors.The corridors are noticeable for their decorations in fresco, oils and "lime."Much of the beauty of these is lost, however, to appreciative eyes because of the bad lighting. Most of them were painted in the summer months; for the Senators and Representatives strenuously objected to the presence of scaffolding in the building during sessions. A corps of artists assisted Brumidi in the execution.Each was employed for his, excellence in a particular branch of art.One painted scroll-work only; another devoted himself to animal painting, another to birds, another to flowers, and still another to landscapes.Some bits in oil, notably all the birds and small insects, are attributed to Leslie, an American painter. Brumidi himself painted all the figures, heads and groups, besides directing and overseeing the entire work.Nothing was done except by his approval, and all the designs, in drawing as well as color, were of his making. In these, Bnunidi deserves praise for his use of animals.They have too long been neglected in the decorative arts, furnishing, as they do, such exquisite expres-. sions of lifethat one element necessary to the good and beautiful in all human effort as it is in Divine. The decorations of the ceilings of some of the committee rooms are dis- temper.Unlike in fresco, the plaster is dry when the colors are applied. These are ground to powder and mixed with water and glue to make them adhere to the wall.Unlike in fresco, too, it is not necessary for the artist to restrict himself to the use of mineral colors; the range of the palette is the same as in oils Many of the walls have been much marred by being scrubbed with sand soap; but, fortunately, the scrubbers have notbeen so solicitous for the cleanli- The National Capitol 183

ness of Uncle Sam's property as to extend their efforts far above the easy reach of the arm. All things have their use, and this natural antipathyof some of the colored brethren to extended labors has undoubtedly been a blessing to the art of the Capitol, and saved much of the painting on the upper walls and ceilings unimpaired.Alas, for that within reach!These decorations should be simply dusted, and otherwise untouched, if they are to be preserved. Committee Rooms.Near the northern exit to the terrace are frescoes of the great American jurists, Kent and Story.Above some of the committee room doors Brumidi has painted scenes suggestive of their occupants at the time.Over the door leading to the Committee on Foreign Relations, which was then devoted to Post-Offices and Post Roads, is Benjamin Franklin, the father of the postal system in this country, seated in his laboratory. Above the door directly opposite is John Fitch, hard at work upon his model of a steamboat.Above the door of the Committee on Post-Offices and Post Roads, then the quarters of the Committee on Foreign Relations, the artist has painted in fresco the scene of the signing of preliminary articles of peace between the United States and Great Britain, at Paris, November 30, i by Richard Oswald on behalf of Great Britain and by John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, John Jay and Henry Laurens on behalf of the United States.On the walls within are medallion portraits of Clay, Allen, Cameron and Sumner, former chairmen of the committee. Over the door of the room occupied by the Committee on Territories is a fresco commemorative of the cession of Louisiana to the United States by France in 1803.The entrance, walls and ceiling of the room devoted to the Committee on Military Affairs are graced by some of Brumidi's good work.Here is portrayed in fresco Generals Washington and Lafayette in consultation during the dark days of Valley Forge.The storming of Stony Point by Mad Anthony Wayne, the death of General Wooster at Danbury, Connecti- cut, the Boston Massacre of I 770, and Major Pitcairn at the battle of Lex- ington, ordering the rebels to disperse, also are graphically told.The panels made of small-arms are noticeably fine.General Logan, as chairman of the committee, many times presided in this room.The adjoining chamber, which was at one time the home of the Committee onNaval Affairs, is richly decorated, the frescoes on its ceiling representing Thetis, Venus, Amphitrite and America.The room at the opposite end of the corridor, formerly occupied by the Committee on Agriculture and now the headquarters of the Committee on Indian Affairs, bears vine and fruit pieces, with roguish cupidson its walls and ceiling.Above its entrance is a fresco of Columbus and an Indian maiden, one of Brumidi's most unworthy contributions. Bartolomé de Ttc Ciss, the apostle of the red man, is pictured on the wall facing the foot of the western stairway. In the room of the Senate Committee on Rules hang a number of portraits of rare interestThe most attractive of these is probably the one of 184 The National Capitol

Henry Laurens, president of the American Congress.This portrait, painted in 1781, was purchased for the government by the Joint Committee onthe Library.At the time its purchase was under consideration, Mr. Hoarstated that the picture was painted by John Singleton Copley in the Towerof London, and that he thought it ought to be owned by the government.He said that it could be purchased for $1,200. A portion of a letter is visible in Laurens's hand: "I have acted the part of a faith subject; I now go resolved still to labor for peace at the same time determined in the last event to stand or fall with my country.I have the honor to be Henry Laurens." A portrait of General Grant by Cogswell (i868) hangs on the samewall. This was bought from the family of Henry D. Cook for $5oo.Here, also, at present, hangs a portrait of Pocahontas.This interesting picture was sent to the World's Fair by its owner in London with the purpose ofpresenting it to the government after the exposition.It is still in custom-house bond, however, never having been presented to nor accepted by Congress.The inscription on the picture reads: "Matoaks ats Rebeccadaughter to the mighty Prince Powhatan Emperor of Attanoughkomonck ats Virginia converted and baptised in the Christian faith and wife to the Worh. Mr. Tho: Rolif."In a circle about the portrait we read: "Prince Powhatan imp: virgini.Matoaka als Rebecka Filia Potentiss.Aetatis suae 2!.Ao. j6r6." * * * * Central Builtling.The main corridor running the entire length of the building upon this floor, with an exit to the marble terrace at either end, is nearly 750 feet in length. Consultation Room of Justiees.Tbe first door upon the right, to the south of the annex which connects the old building with the Senate extension, leads to the private consultation room of the justices of the Supreme Court of the United States.Here they meet and consult before promulgation of their decisions.The room, similar to most of the committee rooms, contains a long consultation table with chairs about, but no decoration worthyof mention.It is never open to the public; and every precaution is taken to guard from foreign ears not only the councils in this chamber, but the final deter- minations of that learned body before they are pronounced in open Court. Saturday is the consultation day.It is only on rare occasions, of late years, that the justices find it necessary to consult at night, as was common in the earlier days of the Court, when four or five evening consultations were held during a week.Before the present chamber was fitted up, the justices met in a room convenient to their residences. Senate Barber Shop.Next to the consultation room, on the same side of the hallway, is the Senate barber shop.Its window laces to the west. A portion of the room is occupied by the pri%ate bath-tubs for SenatorsThe attendants receive a stated salary for their services The National Capitol i8

In former days, the rooms on the west side of the main corridor nearly opposite the present Law Library were the offices of the Clerk of the Supreme Court. "Corncob" Colurnns.Beyond, the main corridor widens into a circular space, beneath the light well, from which a door to the east opens into a sort of vestibule.From this rise a stairway and private elevator, bothof which lead to the open space before the office of the Marshal of the Supreme Court of the United States.The elevator was put in nominally for the exclusive use of the justices, but the age and failing health of Mr. Justice Field no doubt primarily led to the convenience. In this vestibule are noticeable six unique columns, whose Americanized capitals might command attention on the score of a "Colum- bian order" of development in architecture. Why should not these designs made by Latrobe from the natural products of the country be as stimulating in artistic beauty and suggestion as the acanthus of Greece or the lotus of the Nile ?Jefferson, itissaid, recognized andt admired the efforts of the architect in this direction, and a similar capital, sent to him by f Latrobe, is still in the hallway at Monticello. The shafts are composed of bundles of the stalks of the maize or Indian corn rising out of acirclet of pointed leaves, the joints winding spirally; the capitals are gracefuldesigns of the leaves and of the opening, silk-tasselled ears, fillet-bound at the base. Law Library.To the north of the exit doorof the vestibule, formerly the principal entrance to the old Senate wing, liethe historic room and alcoves now filled with the Law Library.This Library was established as a separate institution, though still under thedirection of the Librarian of Con- gress, as it is also today, onJuly14,1832, when it was moved into a room to the south of the main Library hail.In 1848, it was removed to a room on the ground floor northwest of the center of theCapitol, close to its present quarters; and upon the removal of theCourt, was again transferred, this time into the chamber lately occupied by the Court.In 1832, the number of law books was recorded as2,012. To-day they number about 85,000 volumes, among which is a complete collectionof foreign, federal and State reports, with innumerable text-books and rare and unique expressionsof law.The rules here regarding the books are nearly the same asin the general Congres. sional Library. i88 The National Capitol

The Crypt.The large circularchamber in the center of the building on the ground floor is known asthe crypt. In this somber space are forty Done columns of brown stone, whichcontribute to the support of the floor- ing of the immense rotunda above.In the center is a marble star, which is theoretically the center of the city of Washington asoriginally laid out in the plan of L'Enfant, but, practically, farotherwise. "Of course," writesTrumbull, recalling his proposed plans for the arrangement of this interior, "the staircasewhich I had recommended, together with the fire-proof rooms for thepreservation of important records, &c., were sacrificed, and instead of theconcentric walls and simple arches of my plan, to support the floor of the great room, awilderness of truncated columns and groined arches were employed forthat purpose, and this wilderness, called the crypt, very soon degenerated into astand for a crowd of female deal- ers in apples, nuts, cakes,liquors, &c., for the accommodation of hackney coachmen, servants, negroes, &c., and becoming anintolerable nuisance, was ultimately denounced as such by Mr. JohnRandolph, and abated." Washington Tomb and Statue.Beneaththe star in the center of the crypt is a tomb known as the "WashingtonTomb."Above it, formerly, was a circular openingin the floor of the rotunda, evidently for the purposeof lighting the crypt and permitting visitors to lookdown upon the statue above the tomb as they now look down uponthe sarcophagus of the first Napoleon at the Hotel des Invalides inParis, "where rest at last the ashes of that rest less man." "A notion had long prevailed," writesTrumbull, about 1824, "that a statue of Washington mustbe placed in the Capitoland where so well as under the centre of the dome, on theground floor, where it would be always accessible to and under the eye of the people;the ground floor might then become a magnificent cip4 and the monumentof the father of his country, surrounded by those of her illustrious sons, mightthere seem still to watch over and to guard theinterests of the nation which they had founded.The idea was poetical, grand, and captivating. "The statue being there, must be lighted, and as theprojections of the porticos must necessarily screen all thelight which might otherwise have been obtained from the arches between the piers ofthe ground floor, it was evident that the object could only beattained by letting down light from the summit of the dome; and to effect this, itwould be necessary also to pierce the floor of the grand room, with anopening large enough for the purpose, say twenty feet diameter, at least.These whims prevailed, and the project was adopted." s early as December 23,I799, it was resolved by Congress that amarble statue be erected in the Capitoland that the ftmil) of General Washington be requested to permit his body tobe deposited under itThe monument was to be so designed as tocommemorate the great esents of his military and The National Capitol 189 political life.Washington had just passed away, and President John Adams transmitted a copy of the resolution to his widow, then at Mount Vernon, with assurances of the profound respect of Congress for her person and character, and of their condolence in her late affliction.Mrs. Martha Washington responded by letter of December 31st, expressing her grateful acknowledg- ment and unfeigned thanks for the mournful tributes of respectand veneration paid to the memory of her deceased husband and consenting to the request of Congress.It was, no doubt, made an express or implied condition by her that, upon her own demise, she should be allowed to rest at the side of her honored husband in the nation's tomb.Itis certain that in this belief Mrs. Washington directed that, upon her decease, her remains should be enclosed in a leaden coffin similar to the one containing the ashes of her illustriousconsort, a wish respectfully carried out at the time of her death. Various other resolutions were offered and considerable correspondence * carried on regarding the ceremonies of removal from Mount Vernon; and the tomb was made ready.The year i 832 arrived,however, without any such removal having taken place. In the early part of that year, the THE WASHINGTON TOMB Legislature of the State of Vir- ginia, jealous of her hero resting in national soil, passed a resolutionagainst it. The matter was determined by a letter, dated February 15,5832, from John A. Washington, who was then the proprietor ofMount Vernon, denying the request made by Congress. In spite of the graceful wayin which his reply was couched, it is the common report that a selfish motiveonly led him to the determination. The removal of the remains of the immortalWashington would certainly have much reduced the value of Mount Vernonin the public interest. The two following entries in the prolific diary of the secondAdams thmw some light upon this question; "Feb. t6th, x83z.At the opening ofthe sitting of the House, the Speaker announced the correspondence betweenthe Vice-President with him-

* For full account of the proceedings, see Appeodi, p. 273. '9° The National Capto1 self and John A. Washington, the present proprietor of Mount Vernon, and George \V. P. Custis, the grandson of Mrs. Martha Vashington.John A. Washington declines giving permission that the remains of George Washing- ton should be removed from Mount Vernon, though Mr. Custis does consent that those of Mrs. Martha Washington should be removed.They must remain where they are.This affair is therefore now settled." "Feb. 22, 1832.Centennial birthday of Washington.The solemnities intended for this day at this place lost all their interest for me by the refusal of John A. Washington to permit the remains of George Washington to be transferred to be entombed under the Capitola refusal to which I believe he was not competent, and into the real operative motives to which I wish not to inquire.I did wish that this resolution might have been carried into execution, but this wish 'was connected with an imagination that this federal Union was to last for ages.I nosy disbelieve its duration for twenty years, and doubt its continuance for five.It is falling into the sear and yellow leaf." At the time of his death the advisability of honoring Grant with a final resting-place in the "Washington Tomb" was agitated.The family, however, who were then residing in New York, were averse to having the body interred elsewhere, and the State itself, like Virginia in the case of Washing- ton, was jealous of any interment which would remove her citizen-hero from her soil.Nothing came of it; and the tomb in the Capitol is still vacant, except for the simple bier of boards covered with black cloth which was used to support the remains of Lincoln, and which has been used for each citizen laid in state at the Capitol since that dark day. Court of Clairns.The Court of Claims, which was established Febru- ary 24, 1855, was organized and first sat in Willard's Hotel.Later it moved to the Capitol and occupied the suite of rooms below the Library, the Court holding its sessions in the large room looking west, to the north of the stairway.About i88o, the Court moved from the Capitol to its present quarters in the Department of Justice.Up to March ,1887, in this Court only could the government be brought before the bar to plead, and even there in but a few prescribed cases.It differed from every other court in the United States; for they needed only the Executive to enforce their judgments, while the Court of Claims must have appropriations directly for the purpose from Congress or its judgments against the nation go unsatisfied. One of the rooms formerly devoted to the Court of Claims is now occupied by the Senate Committee on the Library.In it hangs a quaint portrait of Benjamin West by himself.This was purchased of Mr. Barlow, the dealer, In 1876 Offices of the Chief Clerk To the south of the so-called crypt, towards the wing of the House of Representatives, and opening from the main comdor are the offices of the chief clerk of that bodyThe northeast The National Capitol 191 room of this suite, in May,1844,was the Washington terminus of Morse's telegraph, connecting the Capitol with the railroad depot in Pratt Street between Charles and Light Streets, Baltimore, over which was transmitted the first telegraphic message in the world's history.Miss Annie G. Ellsworth, daughter of Henry L. Ellsworth, then Commissioner of Patents, was honored with the choice of the words of the message, as she had been the first to announce to Morse the good news of the passage of thebill appropriating the money to build the wire.She chose: "What hath God wrought 1" * * * * House Wing.The House post-office and restaurant are upon this floor, east of the main corridor of the Capitol.The bath-rooms of the House also were formerly here, but have since been moved to the sub-basement near the furnace and engine rooms.Their space was incorporated into the restaurant.They are for the use of Representatives and certain ernployés of the building.Some of the tubs are made of solid blocks of marble, chiseled at the time of the erection of the extensions, but the majority are porcelain-lined. The two attendants, unlike those of the Senate who are exclusively for the comfort of Senators, wait upon both the Representatives and employés. Decoration.The main corridor of the ground floor of the House is much enriched by colonnades of semi-Corinthian columns carved from fine Italian marble.The crowning section of each capital is designed from the American tobacco plant.The general want of decoration, however, throughout the entire wing is very noticeable by contrastwith the northern end of the Capitol. The tradition is that during the construction of the south wing a lively fight occurred in committee over an appropriation bill for itscompletion. One of the clauses of the bill provided for the decoration ofthe House wing like the Senate wing and another for an increase of twenty per cent,in the salaries of the employés of the House.Mr. Humphrey Marshall, a Rep- resentative from Kentucky, who was a character in his way, as well as a man of force, was bitterly averse toenriching foreign artists, who would doubtless receive the majority of the contracts as they hadin the Senate. He was a stanch friend of the American artists andaided them in securing the appointment of the Art Commission to control thedecoration at the Capitol.He is said to have cleverly used, in the fight in committee,the proposed advance for the benefit of the employés as a lever with which to defeat the provision for decoration.This is especially interesting as he is still remembered as a principal figure at the collation,spread by the employés in one of the committee rooms to put the Membersin good humor toward the increase, and as saying: "Boys, I'll eat yourrefreshments and drink your whiskey,then vote against your compensation."And so the story goes that. 192 The National Capitol if it had not been for Mr. Humphrey Marshall, the employéswould have had their increase, and the panels and niches of the House wing, aswell as those of the Senate, would have been enriched with frescoes,oils and marbles. Committee Rooms.The mural decorations of the roomof the Com- mittee on Agriculture, which is upon the west front, werethe first work of Brumidi at the Capitol.They were done on probation, and were so satisfactory to the authorities that the entire remaining portion of the artist's life, some twenty-six years, was devoted assiduously to the beautifying of the rotunda and the Senate wing. His work has so identi- fied him with the building that he may almost now be called the "Michael Angelo of the Capitol." On theceiling are gracefully frescoed groups representing the four seasons, Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter.On the east wall, the artist has told the story of Cincinnatus, called from the plow to govern Rome, and this he has rendered strikingly effective in suggestion by the similar event in Ameri- can history, depicted upon the west wallthe summon- ing of Putnam from the plow CONSTANTINO BRUMID! to accept a command in the Colonial army.Upon the south wall, the artist has placed a head of Washington, and beneath it a panel representing the primitive process of cutting grain with the old-fashioned sickle; and opposite, a head of Jefferson, below which is a similar panel showing the improved style of harvesting to-day with the reaper.The four corners of the ceiling are enlivened with scroll-work and frescoes of pretty cherubs in imitation of marble.Brumidi completed the decoration of the room in The former room of the Committee on Territories, now used by the Committee on Elections, is decorated after designs by Leslie; and that on Indian Affairs contains a collection of Eastman's oil paintingsrepresenting life among the Sioux. The National Capitol

Bronze Stairways.This floor has twomain stairways and two eleva- end tors, as in the Senate wing,though one of these "lifts" rises at the south of the western corridor, rather than atthe west end of the northern.A private staircase leads from ahallway, opening off the eastern corridor, tothe main floor of the House; andthere is another to the west, similaralike to the two which lead to the privatelobby of the Senators.These are of marble with the exception of the railings,which are wrought in bronze. Brumidi made the attractive designs of theeagle, deer and cherubs for all of therail- ings upon paper; they were thenmodeled by Charles Baudin, a Frenchman, school, but and cast in Philadelphia.The drawings were after the Italian Baudin changed them into the Frenchstyle in working up the models, an alteration principally noticeable in thedifferent way in which the scrollsand flowers are made apparently to grow outof one another.Archer, Warner, Miskey & Co. received$22,498.12for the four railings; no one seems to know what the artists were paid for thedesigns.

'3 THE HOUSE WING Speaker's Room.The Speaker's room is at the head of the eastern private staircase of the House.There is nothing about its decoration in any way to distinguish it.The room is for the exclusive use of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, for the purposes of consultation and office work, when at the Capitol. Speaker's Lobby.The Speaker's lobby, a long narrow corridor, isdi- rectly in the rear of the chamber of the House.Behind itisthe Representa- tives' retiring room, furnished with com- fortable chairs and sofas upholstered in leather, whose windows overlookthe grounds and city toward the Potomac. This room and the lobby occupy the same relative position to the House that thePresident's room,marble room, Vice-President's room and private lobby occupy to the Senate.Their uses, however, are quite different.No person is permitted to enter them afterthe House convenes, unless he has the privilege ofthe floor.They are especially interesting, because they contain portraits ofthe various Speakers of the House of Representatives from the time of Frederick A. Muhienberg of Pennsylvania, the Speaker of the First and Third Congresses, which hangs on the south wall adjacent to the Speaker's room.Opposite hangs a portrait of Robert C. Winthrop of Massachusetts, presented by citizens of that State after the delivery of his centennial oration, by appointment of Congress, at Yorktown, Virginia, on the i9th of October, i88i.The first portrait at the entrance to the lobby, near the Speaker's room, is that of John W. Jones of Virginia.Following it, upon the left, is James L. Orr of South Carolina.Within the first arch hangs Henry Clay of Kentucky, by Faynini.Then follow William Pen. The National Capitol 195

nington of New Jersey, General Joseph B. 'Varnum of Massachusetts, Robert M. T. Hunter of Virginia, Andrew Stevenson of Virginia, Theo- dore Sedgwick of Massachusetts and Schuyler Colftx of Indiana; while within the last arch, corresponding with the one where hangs the portrait of Henry Clay, is an admirable portrait by John S. Sargent (1891) of Thomas B. Reed of Maine, (he present Speaker, who, as a parliamentarian, holds one of the most unique and conspicuous places in the public eye yet acquired by a Speaker of the House.In the retiring rooms, over the mantle, hangs the portrait of Jonathan Trumbull of Connecticut fame, the Speaker of the Second Congress.Directly opposite is that of Nathaniel P. Banks of Massachusetts; while beyond the door, outside the lobby, is John 'White of Kentucky.The first portrait upon the walls of the lobby next the chamber of the House, is that of Jonathan Dayton of New Jersey; opposite it hangs that of John W. Taylor of New York.To the right of Dayton is John Bell of Tennessee.Then follow Philip P. Barbour of Virginia, Linu Boyd of Kentucky, Michael C. Kerr of Indiana, Samuel J. Ran- dali of Pennsylvania, James G. Blame of Maine, Charles F. Crisp of Georgia, who was of a family of actors, and, as a boy, himself an actor, John G. Carlisle of Kentucky, Galusha A. Grow of Pennsylvania, .1. Warren Keifer of Ohio, John W. Davis of Indiana, Howell Cobb of Georgia, James K. Polk of Tennessee and Lan gdon Cheves of South carolina. It is interesting to notice that, of this long line of illustrious men who have received the high honor of being Speaker of the House of Representa- tives, one only, James K. Polk, has been elected to the greater, but often not so powerful, office of President of the United States.Many of them have sought the nomination from their parties; several of them have been placed in nomination, but one only has reached the goal of his ambition, and he by far not the greatest. Committee Rooms and Offlces.The door at the west end of the Speaker's lobby leads to the hallway known as the west corridor of the House. At the south end of this corridor, until recently, were the offices of the Clerk and of the Sergeant-at-Arms of the House.They are now occupied by the Committee on Appropriations, where originate all appropriation bills considered by the House, excepting those relating to rivers and harbors, post- offices and post roads, the army and navy, and foreign affairs.Opening off the same corridor isthe room which is devoted to the Committee on Rivers and Harbors.Directly north is the office of the journal, printing and file clerks of the House, where are preserved the original Messages which have been sent to that body by the Presidents from the time of the establishment of the government Westward the Course of Empire takes its Way.From the west corridor, a grand marble staircase ascends to the galleries of the House.At its